Cheemeni project will not be coal-based: Govt.

Thursday, 16 June 2011 17:49

The state government has decided not to convert the Cheemeni thermal power project into a coal-based one, Power Minister Aryadan Mohammed said. Talking to reporters after meeting Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Minister of State for Power K C Venugopal, state Power Minister Aryadan Mohammed said coal will not be used as fuel in Cheemeni.

The government has reached an agreement with the NTPC to begin a thermal power plant at Ramagundam, Andhra Pradesh, he said. The coal allotted for the Cheemeni project will be utilised at Ramagundam plant, said Aryadan. A part of power produced like that will have to be given to Andhra Pradesh. In that case, the state will get 65% of power. Meantime, the coal granted for the state will be provided to Andhra Pradesh.

The district administration had identified 2,000-acre land, now vested with the Plantation Corporation of Kerala for the 1310 MW project. The coal block permitted in Orissa in 2007 for Kerala, Gujarat and Orissa has not been implemented so far. The state first decided to implement it in Cheemeni, but the environmentalists pointed out that if coal is used as fuel in Cheemeni, it would result in serious environmental issues.