NTPC's North Karanpura project to come up before GoM on coal

The Group of Ministers on coal in its next meeting-- likely this month-end-- will also consider the issue of the exact location of NTPC's 1,980-MW thermal power project in Jharkhand, an official said here today.

"It has been decided, with the approval of the Prime Minister, that the Group of Ministers constituted to consider environmental and developmental issues.....And other developmental projects, will also be mandated to deliberate regarding the location of North Karanpura Super Thermal Power Plant," a Coal Ministry official said.

The Rs 8,000-crore NTPC project has been hanging fire for almost a decade now due to a controversy over its location. The North Karanpura project situated in Chatra district in Jharkhand was supposed to be implemented during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12).

It, however, got entangled in a dispute between the coal and the power ministries over the location and has been stalled for long now.

The coal ministry wanted the plant to be set up at another site in Jharkhand. It has been pressing for relocation of the project arguing that the proposed site is situated above an estimated 6 billion tonnes of coal reserves.

The power ministry had opposed relocation of the proposed site.

In February this year both the coal and the power ministries had decided to refer the matter to the Cabinet.
 
The official said the project will be one of the agendas that would come up in its third meeting of the GoM.

The Cabinet Secretariat in a memo issued to various ministries, including coal and power, on April 15 has asked the group of ministers (GoM) to also "make suitable recommendations in this regard (project)".

The foundation stone for the project was laid in September, 2001 at Chatra.