Jan. 10: The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), is all set to grant environmental clearance to Jindal Power Ltd (JPL), a company owned by Congress MP, Mr Naveen Jindal. This will hence reverse the Centre’s earlier stance where it had directed the state government to take action against the company for flouting environmental laws.
The Chattisgarh government had issued a showcase to JPL and the MoEF had withdrawn its earlier approval of the Terms of Reference (TOR) issued to permit the expansion of Jindal’s coal-based thermal power plant located in Tamnar block of Raigarh district in Chattisgarh.
The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the MoEF has however overturned this stance and has recommended that the project be allowed to continue by following the original ToRs.
Sources within the MoEF point out that the JPL had argued that TOR should not be withdrawn as it had not been given an opportunity to explain itself. They reasoned before the EAC that although it had originally estimated that 1041 hectares would be needed for its project, it had managed to optimise the land use so that the project could be carried out in only 456 hectares.
Of this, 129 hectares were already in its possession, and the remaining land was being acquired. Therefore, said JPL, the expanded project was more or less being carried out within its existing premises, and there was no cause to withdraw the ToR on account of land availability.
Mr Ramesh Aggarwal, who had been the whistle blower, pointed out, the JPL has falsely represented the facts. The expansion being sought by JPL is to the scale of an additional four units with 2,400 MW capacity, i.e. a 250 per cent addition to the existing 1,000 MW under operation.
It is certain that this level of revision of the original project will have a significant impact on the ecology of the region.