Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd has decided
to withdraw from its 1,980-mw
Bargarh power project in Uttar
Pradesh following land acquisition related
problems. This is the second
private power project exiting from
Uttar Pradesh in recent history,
following the 1,320-mw Karchana
project that Jaypee Group decided
against pursuing.
Reliable reports suggest that the state
government could not help private
developer Bajaj in land acquisition. As
against 13,000 acres of land required for
the Bargarh project, not even 10 acres
could be acquired. Located in
Chitrakoot district, the Bargarh project
envisaged three supercritical power
units of 660-mw each. The project has a
legacy of hindrances. It was earlier
supposed to be set up by NTPC.
However, the project was stifled over
the quantum of electricity generation to
be reserved for home state UP.
Bajaj Hindusthan, incidentally, is also
coming up with a similar 1,980-mw
project at Lalitpur in Jhansi district.
This project has covered much ground
and is likely to commission by 2015.
Bharat Heavy Electricals in March 2011
was placed a Rs.5,450-crore order for
supplying the main plant equipment for
the 3x660-mw supercritical project.
The Lalitpur and Bargharh projects
were amongst the 10 projects for which
MoUs were signed during the erstwhile
Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party
(BSP) government. With an aggregate
capacity of close to 11,000 mw, these
projects were expected to bridge Uttar
Pradesh’s power deficit by 2015-16. It is
pertinent to note that except for the
Lalitpur project, not a single project has
made any mentionable progress. All the
nine projects are stuck for reasons
relating to delayed land acquisition or
absence of coal linkages, or both.
Untitled Document
POWER PROJECT MOUS IN UTTAR PRADESH* |
| Promoter |
Project |
Capacity
(MW) |
| Himawat Power |
Bhognipur-I |
1,320 |
| Lanco Infratech |
Bhognipur-II |
1,320 |
| Bajaj Hindusthan |
Lalitpur |
1,980 |
| Bajaj Hindusthan |
Bargarh |
1,980 |
| Creative Thermolite |
Murka |
600 |
| Parekh Aluminex |
Barabanki |
250 |
| Unitech |
Auriya |
250 |
| Torrent Power |
Sandila |
1,320 |
| Welspun Power |
Mirzapur |
1,320 |
| Bajaj Hindusthan |
(Five locations) |
450 |
| Total |
|
10,790 |
| *Signed in 2010 by previous BSP government |
At the time of signing the MoUs, the
Mayawati government had imposed a
condition on the 10 projects to secure
coal linkages within 18 months. This
deadline expired in June 2012, which fell
in the present-day regime of the new
Samajwadi Party (SP) government. It is
learnt that the SP government has
granted a further extension of 18
months for the projects to attain the
coal-linkage milestone. The new
government has also assured Jaypee
Group of facilitating land acquisition
for the 1,320-mw Karchana project.
Relocation: The Bajaj Group might
consider shifting the Bargarh project as
an extension of the under-construction
Lalitpur project. For the Bargarh project,
an SPV called Bajaj Power Generation
Pvt Ltd was formed. The Lalitpur
project is being implemented by
another SPV Lalitpur Power Generation
Company Ltd. The sugar-centric Bajaj
Hindusthan is also implementing a
series of coal-fired power plants of 90-
mw each in the vicinity of each of the
company’s five sugar mills.
With no additions to power
generation capacity in recent times,
Uttar Pradesh is facing a regressive
power situation. In the first six months
of FY13, the state’s power deficit
worsened to 15.4 per cent (national
metric: 8.5 per cent) from 8.9 per cent