Sri Lanka will not go ahead with the joint venture with India’s National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to build a coal power plant in eastern Trincomalee district, the Supreme court was told today, after strong objections from environmentalists and the public.
The decision of the Ministry of Power and Energy not to go ahead with the project in Trincomalee district’s Sampur, was informed by the Attorney General.
The Environmental Foundation Limited had filed the rights petition on May 31 objecting to the coal power plant over its environmental impact.
They had highlighted the long term environmental impact from the project and its resultant health effects.
Sri Lanka government’s Central Environmental Authority, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and the Ministry of Power and Energy were cited as respondents in the case.
There had been protests over the resettlement of people displaced by the war with the LTTE in Sampur. Since the war ended, Sampur had been declared a high security zone due to the proposal to build the coal power plant.
The Sampur Coal Power Plant was proposed as a joint venture between the CEB and National thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) of India and a Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the government, CEB and NTPC in 2006.
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