Chief Minister Raghubar Das has instructed the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) for timely completion of its power plants coming up at Patratu and North Karanpura in the State at present. As per the agreement singed, the power major has to start generation from its Patratu joint venture by 2019.
“We are working to make Jharkhand power sufficient State and develop as energy hub of the country. For that the power plants coming up at Patratu and North Karanpura are required to be completed in a time bound manner,” said the CM while meeting CMD of the NTPC Gurdeep Singh and other officials on Tuesday.
The Maharatna thermal power company had entered into agreement in May 2015 to set up 4,000MW plant on the land belonging to Patratu Thermal Power Station under a joint venture and went on forming Patratu Vidyut Utpadan Nigam with State-owned Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited.
The project is proposed to have five units with an installed capacity of 800MW each. Presently the phase-I of the two-stage project is underway with three units which are estimated to begin generation next year. Additional 1,600MW in the second phase is expected by 2023-24.
Sources present in the meeting said that considerable progress has been made in terms of land demarcation and issues related to the existing work force. “The NTPC has went on awarding the BHEL for engineering, procurement and construction of three 800 MW units coal-fired power plant being built by it at Patratu. Now no major hurdle is there and we hope that formal foundation for the super critical thermal power plant would be laid in near future,” said he.
Also, another power plant of the NTPC is coming up at North Karanpura. In the meeting the CM also said that consultations of that kind should take place on regular intervals so that any issue coming into the project is sorted out. Officials from the firm along with the State Government including Energy Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni, JBVNL’s MD Rahul Purwar reviewed the latest progress made into the ongoing projects.
The CM also took a stock of CSR activities being run by the company and steps being taken in the field of power transmission in the State. He referred to some of the leading programmes in the filed of solar energy as well. Besides the officials, Chief Secretary Rajbala Verma, Additional Chief Secretary Sukhdeo Singh, Principal Secretary to the CM Sunil Kumar Barnwal were also present into the deliberation.