Coal block uncertainty casts shadow on Odisha Thermal Power project

Originally allotted Tentuloi, in which extraction was tough and could push up production costs

The 2,400 Mw coal-based power plant proposed by Odisha Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (OTPCL), an Odisha government PSU, has apparently walked into a blind alley with no suitable coal block in sight.

The Ministry of Coal (MoC) had originally allocated the Tentuloi coal block in favour of OTPCL with reserves of 1,200 million tonne. But Tentuloi being an underground block was tough to extract and posed the risk of escalating the cost of power production. The Odisha government has been making repeated pleas to the ministry to allocate an alternative block. The state government had even offered to surrender the Tentuloi