Adani's 600-MW Chhattisgarh plant delayed on public opposition

Raipur: The Adani Group's 600-MW power plant in Surguja district of Chhattisgarh has hit a roadblock after residents of nearly 10 villages, whose land will have to be surrendered for the thermal plant, decided to oppose the project and brought about a deferment of the public hearing on the same.

The public hearing for setting up the power plant, earlier scheduled for December 30, has been postponed, and the district Collector has said no new date has been fixed for the same. The Adani Group is setting up a 4x150 MW plant, Surguja Power, which is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Adani Mining, near the Parsa East and Kete Basan coal blocks (which have around 10 million tonnes of coal reserves) in Udaypur block of  Surguja.

The plant would be using the coal-washery rejects for its operations, while the higher quality washed coal would be sent to Rajasthan. The project is slated to come up within the 47.5 ha of land in the premises of Parsa East and Kete Basan blocks. Last week, a delegation of villagers had submitted a letter to Surguja Collector, seeking to cancel a public hearing for the plant, which was to be held on December 30. When asked about the issue, Collector Ritu Sain said the public hearing has been postponed.

"The public hearing for the Surguja power plant has been postponed due to different reasons, and just not because of villagers' demand for cancelling the same," Sain told PTI, adding the next date for public hearing would be decided later. These blocks were allocated to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam, which has assigned the work of development, mining and operation to Adani Mines.

"Cancel the public hearing forever. We don't want any power plant in the region," Parsa village sarpanch Bharam Sai Nareti told PTI. Parsa is among the 10-15 villages, including Hariharpur, Salhi, Basan, Ghatbarra and Fatepur, which are likely to be affected by the project. An Adani Group spokesman did not respond to the development.