TN takes Centre to SC for not re-classifying forest land for 1,500 MW thermal power

Jayalalithaa says her state will become power surplus from power deficit by end of this year

The Tamil Nadu government has approached the Supreme Court against the Centre for not re-classifying forest land for a 1,500-Mw thermal power project at Tuticorin.

The project is joint venture between the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) and Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC).

Chief minister J Jayalalithaa said the Congress-led government at the Centre was not letting the project's progress.

Speaking on the power supply in the state, Jayalalithaa said: “Soon Tamil Nadu will become power surplus. When I said this last year, many scoffed at (the claim). When it is said now, everybody believes as 99 per cent of the target has been achieved, while the remaining would be achieved before this year”.

While studies are under way for setting up a 2,000-Mw hydel power plant in Nilgiri district with an outlay of Rs 7,000 crore, the preliminary work on a 1,600-Mw thermal plant in Uppur was under progress, she said.

The state would soon finalise tenders for 1,320 Mw thermal power plants at Udangudi to be set up at a cost of Rs 9,000 crore with coal jetty; Ennore Special Economic Zone costing around Rs 8,000 crore and a 660-Mw power plant here involving Rs 4,000 crore.

Jayalalithaa said the state had signed long term agreements (15-year tenure) with power producers to procure 3,330 Mw. A bulk of this would be from Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

Speaking about TNEB’s financial position, she said the utility’s financial position would improve soon. She alleged the previous DMK-led government was responsible for the loss.

As on March 2011, TNEB had incurred a loss of  Rs 40,375 crore. “The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) wrote to all banks not to lend to TNEB”.

Under the financial restructuring scheme, while 50 per cent of TNEB’s short-term debt will be taken over by the state government, the state had issued bonds worth Rs 6,353.49 crore to the banks.

Already, the state administration has given a guarantee for Rs 22,700 crore for it to raise debt and for restructuring Rs 5,951.43 crore of bank debt, she said.