Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has stepped in to end the bitter turf war between the coal ministry and state-run National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) over the relocation of the PSU’s proposed North Karanpura power project in Jharkhand. Singh has intervened by asking the Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by the finance minister to expressly resolve the vexed issue.

Maharatna company NTPC had planned to set-up a 3x660 (1,980 MW) super thermal power plant worth nearly Rs. 10,000 crore in the state’s Chatra district, which the coal ministry protested saying it would render at least 6 billion tonnes of the fuel impotent for any use.

The coal ministry has argued that site of the project was located above a huge deposit and within 250 metres of coal seams, which would otherwise be available through opencast mining.

“At the behest of the Prime Minister, the GoM will now look into the matter,” coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said. This will be in addition to the Group’s key mandate of looking into the contentious issue of ‘Go’ and ‘No Go’ areas as devised by the union environment ministry.

With NTPC refusing to budge from its position, the ministry had even suggested formation of a joint venture between its behemoth Coal India and the power giant. It suggested that CIL would facilitate land acquisition at any alternative site and assist in getting requisite clearances.
To bolster its offer, the ministry had further suggested that the project size could be enhanced to 4,000 MW at the relocated site. But this did not cut much ice with NTPC as it is understood to have invested more than Rs. 150 crore there already.
“We are only asking them to re-locate. We want the coal, hidden below the seams, extractable. The dry-fuel is in short supply and we want to help power firms,” Jaiswal said.

However, an NTPC official contended that the seams are situated beyond the existing mineable standards. Besides, the PSU has also firmed up plans to link the coal reserves to its expansion plans.
“Now if we are asked to relocate after nearly four years it is unfair as we have acquired the land and other clearances” he said.