No proposal before pollution board on Chamalapura project

The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has not received an application from the government on the controversial coal-based Chamalapura power project proposed near Mysore.

"We have not received any application from the Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd. We have only seen an advertisement," KSPCB chairman HC Sharath Chandra said in Mysore.

Mysore and the Chamalapura areas are witnessing opposition to the 1,000 Mw coal-based power project for which Karnataka had invited expressions of interest.

The Rs- 5,500 crore project at Chamalapura in Mysore district is among the three coal-based projects proposed.The government has also notified for acquisition of about 1,000 acres in Chamalapura.

The chairman told reporters Chamalapura proposal was not a new one. In 1986, the KSPCB received a proposal on the thermal power project.

Since then, technological advancements have taken place and the KSPCB will study what technology is being proposed to mitigate pollution. "We will not give a clean chit straight away," he said.

He indicated the location of coal-based plant at Chamalapura would not make an impact on the city, 25 miles from its location.

There was a shortage of power in the state and natural gas supply project via Mangalore had not come through. Even the barge-mounted power plant was being shifted from Mangalore, as it was not profitable.