State Government Seeks Central Fund for Indravati Pump Storage Project.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has requested the Centre to sanction Rs. 1,200 crore for a pump storage project at Upper Indravati with a capacity of 600 MW.

The issue cropped up during Chief Minister's meeting with Union Minister of State Coal, Power and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal at the Secretariat here on Friday. The State Government requested the Centre to provide fund from the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) to set up the project. The Centre has recently created the NCEF to support projects in clean energy technology. Odisha Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC) has proposed to set up the pump storage project with an outlay of Rs. 1,600 crore. The Chief Minister requested the Union Minister to sanction 75 per cent of the project cost from NCEF.

The State Government has also requested the Centre to allocate a suitable open cast coal block in Talcher area to Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL). This coal block will provide fuel for the 2,400-MW thermal power plant being set up at Kamakshya Nagar in Dhenkanal.

It was pointed out to the Union Minister during discussion that several projects in steel and aluminium sectors in the State do not have coal blocks or adequate coal linkage. The State Government demanded that the Centre should create an allocation mechanism to meet the requirement.

The State Government also demanded that aluminium, being a power intensive industry, should be treated at par with power sector. Coal blocks of 100 million ton or more are considered only for power sector. The aluminium projects will be deprived of raw material for their industries unless the sector is brought at par with power sector.


THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS