In the wake of orders issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) suspending the environmental clearance given to 5×800 megawatt Yadadri Themal Power Station (YTPS), Telangana State Power Generational Corporation Ltd (TS-Genco) has decided to submit a status report to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF) on various aspects raised by the tribunal.
The Genco authorities are hopeful that the MOEF would issue directions giving more relief by perusing and forwarding a compliance report to be submitted by them to the tribunal about the distance of the Amrabad Tiger Reserve from the boundary of YTPS, design of the ash pond and the radio activity impact. “Even the aerial distance between the power project site and tiger reserve is about 75 km”, a Genco official said.
The situation arising out of the NGT order was reviewed at length by Chairman and Managing Director of TS-Genco D. Prabhakar Rao with Directors and the board meeting of the project proponent decided to submit a report to MoEF at the earliest so that there is not much impact at least on the construction work of the project except installation of any machinery as specified in the order.
It was only the last week the CMDs of REC (Rural Electrification Corporation) Vivek Kumar Dewangan and PFC (Power Finance Corporation) Ravinder Singh Dhillon accompanied by Mr. Prabhakar Rao visited the YTPS works at Veerlapalem of Dameracharla mandal in Nalgonda district and reviewed the progress with executing agency BHEL with the latter assuring to pace up works.
The Genco authorities were planning to speed up works as the hurdles in release of funds (loan) by the two power finance companies were cleared after a gap of about six months. The project works are already running behind schedule owing to the two waves of COVID-19 pandemic when the workforce, drawn mainly from north and eastern States by the contractors, returned home and took time to come back.
“At the time of applying for environmental clearance for YTPS, the ambient air quality (AAQ) modelling was conducted within 10 km radius of the project in tune with the existing MoEF notification of 2016. However, as directed by the NGT now, Genco will conduct AAQ modelling afresh and take up cumulative impact assessment within 25 km radius of the project”, Mr. Prabhakar Rao said adding that every effort would be made to commission the project as per revised schedule by complying with the NGT directions.
Meanwhile, Minister for Energy G. Jagadish Reddy alleged that there was a conspiracy behind suspension of EC given to YTPS as a Mumbai-based organisation had nothing to do with the power project. It was the same tribunal that had rejected a petition filed by it in 2017, he recollected and added that if needed a review petition would be filed on the NGT order.
