Plea to declare land acquisition for power project as illegal

A public interest litigation petition has been filed in the Madras High Court seeking to declare that the proceedings for identification of land and land acquisition for the 4000 MW Ultra Mega Power Project and the captive port at Cheyyur in Kancheepuram district as illegal.

The petitioner, K.Saravanan of Ururkuppam, Besantnagar here, a fisherman, said the Tamil Nadu Government was currently acquiring lands for the power project and the captive port at Cheyyur.

The lands which were being acquired were not the ones that were selected for the project.

In the case of the captive port, land acquisition was being done at a site that was expressly rejected in favour of a different location that was found more suitable. As regards the power plant, lands in a survey numbers that were not even part of the site stated to be required were being acquired. Read more: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/plea-to-declare-land-acquisition-for-power-project-as-illegal/article5701116.ece

Vedal farmers say No to Cheyyur Power Plant

29 January, 2014

More than 200 farmers from Vedal in Cheyyur taluka attended a hearing called for by the District Collector of Kanchipuram on 28 January, and unanimously conveyed their decision against land acquisition of their farmlands for setting up the 4000MW power plant. A similar meeting was held at 3 p.m. for farmers from Chittarkadu, Palaiyur and Thaneer Panthal.

Speaking to cheyyur.wordpress.com over phone, Vedal farmer Mani Mudaliar said the administration was unprepared to answer any of the questions raised by the farmers. Farmers pointed out that the lands originally identified by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) for locating the plant did not have any agricultural lands. They alleged fraud in the manner in which the site has been changed to encompass fertile agricultural lands. Highlighting that the company’s environmental clearance itself states that more than 82 percent of the lands to be acquired for the power plant and toxic ash dump are private agricultural lands, the farmers said that the choice of site vitiates the Environment Ministry’s siting guidelines for coal-fired thermal power plants. The original site identified by a site selection team of the CEA pursuant to a visit in October 2006 comprised non-agricultural and non-forest lands spread over Cheyyur and Mudaliarkuppam villages. The current site is located in Vedal, Gangadevanuppam, Chittarkadu and Palaiyur village and is predominantly agricultural, and includes more than 100 acres of waterbodies, and about 40 acres of Reserve Forests.

The farmers also objected that the Government had violated due process by notifying compensation orders without even sending the “award copy” to individual land owners. Some pointed out that the project had been built on a bed of lies including statements to statutory authorities about the absence of waterbodies and migratory birds.

The District Collector said that the matter is in the Madras High Court and several other fora, and that the Government will now await the court order on the matter.

For more information, contact: Nityanand Jayaraman: 9444082401. Visit:cheyyur.wordpress.com

64,000MW can be recovered by plugging electricity leaks

18 January, 2013. PUNE — More than 64,000 MW, nearly 30 percent of India’s installed electricity generation capacity of 225000, is lost in inefficiency and leakages, according to Nityanand Jayaraman, a member of the Chennai Solidarity Group for Koodankulam Struggle. Jayaraman is in Pune as part of the Vasundhara film festival that is being co-organised by Lokayat. Citing Government of India figures, he said that the India’s electricity sector is like a leaky bucket. At the current rate of leakage, the 32000 MW of capacity that is sought to be added through new nuclear power plants in Koodankulam, Jaitapur, Fatehabad, Mithi Virdi, Kovvada and Chutka will disappear without a trace. Efficiency improvement measures can realistically save this 64,000 MW at a nominal cost of about Rs. 50 lakhs per MW. In contrast, nuclear power costs about Rs. 25 crores per MW and coal about Rs. 7 crores. Jayaraman, who is a writer from Chennai, questioned why the Government of India is keen on pouring more money into a leaking bucket while a cheaper and quicker option to bridge the deficit is readily available.

The losses referred to above are in the nature of Transmission and Distribution losses, and losses due to inefficiencies in the equipment used at the consumers’ end. According to a study by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Government of India, conservative measures to enhance efficiency of agricultural pumpsets, commercial and domestic lighting, air conditioning and refrigeration and industrial equipment can yield a savings of 19,000 MW.

Agricultural pumpsets, currently being subsidised at Rs. 10,500 crores by the Maharashtra Government, are horribly inefficient and medieval technologies. The Government of India study reports that Maharashtra’s 11 lakh pumpsets account for 17 percent of the state’s total electricity consumption. The pumpsets operate at a pathetically low efficiency of 25 to 35 percent. Improving the efficiency even modestly to 50 percent can yield savings of 1500 million units. Energy efficiency measures in agricultural, commercial, industrial and domestic consumption can easily free up 8000 million units of electricity a year. Further, reducing the State’s transmission and distribution losses from the current 22 percent to 5 percent – which is technically achievable – the state can save more than 12,000 million units. Taken together, efficiency enhancement measures alone can save more than 20,000 million units. That is more than the current deficit faced by the Government of Maharashtra.

Jayaraman said the Governments of Maharashtra and India must first plug the holes in their leaky electricity infrastructure and curb wasteful consumption. He pointed out that 40 crore people in India lacked access to electricity, while electricity was being wasted to illuminate flex banners in prominent city locations like the Nall Junction.

District Officials threaten Vilambur Villagers over Cheyyur Power Project

3 January, 2014

Revenue officials threatened land-owners in Vilambur, Cheyyur taluk, with police action for blocking unidentified Hindi-speaking surveyors from entering their farms and orchards with survey equipment. The surveyors have no documents from the Government stating the purpose of the survey or conveying authority for such activities. A team comprising VAO H. Sridhar, Talayari A. Marimuthu and Tahsildar Arumugam threatened to bring the police to facilitate the illegal survey. This development further increases the financial risks and uncertainty over the entire project, and may well render the entire project unviable.Vilambur villagers were objecting to the survey stating that they needed to know all the details regarding the reasons for which the survey was being conducted. In November, a similar attempt by a few Hindi-speaking surveyors was foiled. At that time, the Village Administrative Officer had claimed that he had no idea about land acquisition in Vilambur, and expressed ignorance about the surveyors and their intent. It was only at this time that Vilambur villagers learnt from a Chennai NGO that a stormwater drain, a coal conveyor belt and water intake and effluent pipelines for the 4000MW Cheyyur coal power plant were to pass through their orchards, farm lands and vegetable patches.

Separate Environmental Clearances for the port and the power plant had been obtained after two separate public hearings for the two projects were held. However, no public hearing was held, no EIA prepared and no Environmental Clearance has been obtained for the coal conveyor belt, stormwater drain and water intake/outfall pipelines. As the recent land survey attempts have shown, even the land has not been surveyed.

Similarly, while lands for the power plant and port are being acquired under the Tamil Nadu Acquisition of Lands for Industrial Purposes Act, 1997, 43 acres of lands for the coal conveyor belt, the stormwater drain and the water pipelines are not being acquired under this Act. According to project documents, acquisition of lands for these infrastructure will be left to the private company that wins the bid to set up and operate the power plant. As per law, no such survey can take place without the consent of the land owner unless formal acquisition notice is issued under a relevant land acquisition statute, and surveyors authorised to conduct such survey. No such acquisition notice has been issued to Vilambur villagers, and no consent sought.

For more information, contact: Nityanand Jayaraman: 9444082401

Power Finance Corporation shortlists 17 bidders for two UMPPs

NEW DELHI: Power Finance Corporation that invited bids for two ultra mega power projects (UMPP) short listed all nine applicants for Odisha and eight for Cheyyur after VK Shunglu chaired apex evaluation committees evaluated applications for pre-qualification round. For Odisha UMPP, NTPC, Tata Power, NHPC, Adani Power, JSW Energy, Jindal Power, Sterlite Infraventures, CLP India and Larsen & Toubro had submitted their applications in response to the request for qualification. For Cheyyur UMPP, eight companies namely Adani Power, CLP India, GMR Energy, Jindal Power, JSW Energy, L&T, NTPC and Sterlite Infraventures had submitted their applications.

Read more: http://http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-12-23/news/45510249_1_odisha-umpp-sterlite-infraventures-clp-india

PFC shortlists all bidders for 2 UMPPs

List of bidders includes NTPC Ltd, Tata Power, NHPC, Adani Power, JSW Energy and Jindal Power, among others

Power Finance Corporation (PFC), the power ministry’s arm managing the bidding for ultra mega power projects (UMPPs), on Monday said it had shortlisted all the 17 initial bidders for two such projects of 4,000-Megawatt each, to come up in Odisha and Tamil Nadu.

“Based on evaluation, all the nine applicants for the Odisha UMPP and eight applicants for the Cheyyur UMPP which have applied for requests for qualification (RFQs) have been shortlisted for issuance of requests for proposal,” PFC said.

Read more: http://http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/pfc-shortlists-all-initial-bidders-for-odisha-tn-umpps-113122300951_1.html

Odisha, Tamil Nadu UMPPs attract bids from 12 companies

As many as 12 companies, including Tata Power, Adani Power, Vedanta and state-run NTPC, are in the fray for two proposed ultra mega power projects in Odisha and Tamil Nadu.

 

Five companies have shown interest in the Odisha UMPP and seven utilities have lined up for the Cheyyur UMPP in Tamil Nadu, according to sources who did not provide a break-up of the bids.

 

UMPPs are large power projects that use domestic or imported coal. Each has a capacity of about 4,000 MW and requires an estimated investment of Rs 20,000 crore.

 

Other bidders include Jindal Steel & Power and a consortium of NHPC, BHEL and Singareni Collieries Company, the sources said.

 

The last date for submission of bids is November 25 for the Odisha project and November 28 for the Cheyyur plant……….Read more: http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/odisha-tamil-nadu-umpps-attract-bids-from-12-companies-113112500489_1.html

     

 

Cheyyur power project trips over environmental clearance

The Rs 24,200-cr coastal project has run into trouble because of differing views on its threat to local ecology

The government’s attempt at reviving investor interest in its flagship Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPP) scheme after a four-year lull is headed south – quite literally. One of the two such newly-announced projects in Cheyyur village, 96 kilometre south of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, has been engulfed in a controversy spanning economic, social and ecological domains. With the National Green Tribunal last month restraining the authorities from awarding the Rs 24,200 crore project, the future hints at a long-drawn battle between the protesting local inhabitants and the project proponent, Power Finance Corporation (PFC), which arranges clearances before such projects are bid out to companies.

The preliminary work on the Cheyyur UMPP began in 2006 with teams from the Central Electricity Authority, the power ministry’s technical and planning wing, conducting site visits in Cheyyur, one of the four sites identified in the state for a UMPP project. A Special Purpose Vehicle called the…………… Read more: http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/cheyyur-power-project-trips-over-environmental-clearance-113112001126_1.html

Cheyyur plant green nod challenged

A resident of Panaiyur Periakuppam in Kancheepuram has moved the National Green Tribunal here challenging the Environment Clearance (EC) awarded recently to the proposed 4,000 Megawatt Ultra Mega Power Project in Cheyyur belonging to the Power Finance Corporation by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

This is the second case relating to the project now with the NGT. Last year, the same petitioner filed a petition against the EC provided by the ministry………Read more: http://newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/Cheyyur-plant-green-nod-challenged/2013/11/13/article1887805.ece

Wannabe investors face protest

By Sruthisagar Yamunan – CHEYYUR

Published: 24th October 2013 09:55 AM

Prospective investors to the proposed 4,000 megawatt thermal power plant here witnessed a high-voltage angry exchange of words between the police, district officials and locals on a day that saw the villagers hoisting black flags on beaches and boats.

Wednesday began with lower-rung officials from the district administration visiting the villages at 6.30 am to persuade them not to stage protests during the visit.

After the villagers failed to budge, a team of police officers and revenue officials landed in the villages around 10 am and insisted that they remove all the black flags.

After some argument and subsequent persuasion by the local women folk, ……Read more:http://newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/Wannabe-investors-face-protest/2013/10/24/article1852400.ece