Birla's Rosa power plant gets environmental nod

Paving the way for the AV Birla group's re-entry in the power sector, the government has given environmental clearance to the group's 600 Mw Rosa plant in Uttar Pradesh, which will cost over Rs 2,400 crore.

The ministry of environment and forests approved the project - the first by the Kumar Mangalam Birla-headed group as an independent power producer in the country - earlier this month. The move would also help the group in achieving financial closure and begin work on the project soon.

To be implemented by group firm Rosa Power Supply Ltd, the project is the second major investment by a private company in the state's power sector. Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Energy has already received environment approval for its 7,480 Mw gas-fired project at Dadri while the Tatas are also believed to be scouting for opportunities.

Interestingly, both Ambani and K M Birla are members of the Uttar Pradesh Development Council, which is chaired by Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh.

The 2x300 Mw coal-fired Rosa project is being set up at Chaudera in Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh at an estimated investment of Rs 2,421 crore, including Rs 100 crore for environmental protection measures.

Signalling their renewed interest in the power sector, the AV Birla group has also submitted expression of interest to state-run power Finance Corporation for a 4,000 Mw ultra mega power project, sources said.

Though the group has captive power plants, it had conceived two power plants as IPP in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh over a decade ago in association with a UK-based company Powergen. Besides the Rosa project, a 500 Mw plant at Bina was also planned during the 1990s.

The Rosa power plant will require three million tonnes of coal per annum which will be procured from Central Coalfields Ltd's north Karanapura mines in Jharkhand.

In its order, the environment ministry has said the project would need about 400 hectares of land.

But, there is no reserved forest or ecologically sensitive area involved in the project, nor would be there any human displacements.

The ministry also asked the company to practice rain water harvesting to recharge ground water and ensure proper treatment of effluents discharged from the project to keep pollution levels at the minimum.