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Work at Damodar Valley Corporation’s (DVC) stalled power project at Raghunathpur in Purulia district of West Bengal will resume in a day or two.
The project had come to a standstill since October 21 after villagers forcibly stopped the construction of a 12 km-long water intake pipeline and an ash pond, demanding better compensation.
“In a day or two, work will restart at Raghunathpur. We have resolved the misunderstanding between locals and DVC,” State Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee told reporters following a meeting with the DVC Chairman R.N. Sen.
DVC is setting up a 2520 MW power project at Raghunathpur, some 200 km from Kolkata. To be operational in two phases, the first phase has a capacity of 1,200 MW (2x600 MW); another 1,320 MW (2x660 MW) will come up in the second.
According to Chatterjee, there are no issues with land acquisition . “It’s a misunderstanding between DVC and those who have lost land ,” he said.
In case DVC fails to work out a solution with the local populace for laying the water intake pipeline, the State Government will provide alternative land to the State-owned undertaking.
DVC required 52 acres for laying the pipeline from Panchet (Jharkhand) and 400-odd acres for rail connectivity from the project site. Work on the first phase (1,200 MW) has already been completed. The project scheduled to go on-stream in March 2013.
DVC, however, has yet to begin power generation in the absence of a dedicated water supply line and an ash pond.
Work on the second phase (1,320 MW), entailing an estimated investment of Rs 7,000 crore, has also been stalled in the absence of these facilities.
Meanwhile, Sen clarified that the company will not shift the project out of Bengal.
“We are not shifting the project out of the State. Discussions with the State Government have been fruitful,” he told reporters.
DVC had earlier written to the Purulia district magistrate stating reasons for the delay in the project and seeking the district administration’s intervention. It had also thought of shifting the project if problems persisted.
abhishek.l@thehindu.co.in
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