Centre assures it will remove hurdles in installation of 4000-MW UMPP in Surajpur

The Centre has assured to remove the bottlenecks in the installation of 4000-MW ultra mega power project (UMPP) in Chhattisgarh's Surajpur district.

Union Minister of State for Power and Coal (independent charge) Piyush Goyal has assured Chief Minister Raman Singh to clear hurdles in setting up coal-based UMPP in Surajpur, an official statement said here on Tuesday.

The previous UPA government had halted the forest clearances to the coal blocks for the proposed project, citing it falls under dense forest area of Surguja division in north Chhattisgarh. Hence, tendering activities for the selection of agency for implementation of the project were withheld, it said.

Recently, the chief minister in a letter to power ministry had urged to remove the obstacles in the execution of the project keeping in view the social and economic development of the tribal dominated Surguja. He had also requested to alternatively arrange any other captive coal blocks for the UMPP in case of failure to give green waiver to the previously proposed block for the project, to enable the Power Finance Commission (PFC) to take up tendering activities for developing the project, it said.

Chhattisgarh had given its concurrence to set up the power plant in December 2005 and subsequently dealt with water and land issues to soon establish it. The proposed UMPP in Chhattisgarh is meant for supplying low cost power to the tune of 2000 MW to Chhattisgarh and remaining 2000 MW to Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa and Daman and Diu, it said.

However, the project was derailed due to lack of environment clearance for the allotted coal mines - Pindirakhi and Putaparoragiya under Hasdeo-Arand coal fields, for the UMPP, the release said.