The Hindu : CM's gifts of power project

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 21, 2002

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CM's gifts of power project
By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, FEB. 20. Terming it as a ``gift'' to the people of Delhi by the Congress Government which had delivered what it promised, the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, today inaugurated the first phase of the 330-MW Pragati Power Project here. Power-starved Delhiites would get substantial relief as 105 MW of power would start flowing from this project next week.

The project, the foundation of which was laid by Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, in June 2000 has been completed in record time. Apart from this, the Chief Minister said her Government expected to commence work on the 330 MW Apollo Power Project and start a 1,000 MW project at Chhattisgarh to cater to the power needs of Delhi. ``The process of privatisation of the power sector and increase in generation is part of the larger plan to make Delhi self-reliant,'' she remarked.

Interestingly, it is almost after more than two decades that a government in Delhi has commissioned its own generation project. Present on the occasion were the Finance Minister, Mahinder Singh Saathi, the Power Minister, Ajay Maken, the Urban Development Minister, A.K.Walia, the Industry Minister, Deep Chand Bandhu, the Food and Supplies Minister, Haroon Yusuf, MLAs S.C. Vats and Tajdar Babar, the DVB Chairman, Jagdish Sagar, the Principal Secretary (Power), Ramesh Chandra, and senior officials.

The Chief Minister said she had promised that the entire environment friendly project would be commissioned by the middle of this year. The first unit has been commissioned and the rest of the two would be made operational by November. The manner in which the entire project has been executed is reflective of the working attitude of the Government. ``Our Government, since coming to power, has laid a network of flyovers and the Metro Rail project has been given a new impetus. The commissioning of Pragati is yet another step in this direction,'' she stated.

At the same time, Ms. Dikshit said she would give one last try to revive the Bawana Power Project Stage I and II. ``I will be writing to the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Ram Naik, seeking an assurance if they would be in a position to supply us the required gas for the Bawana project. If this comes through, another 1,200 MW of power would be available to the residents of Delhi in a short time. But the final decision rests with the Centre,'' she added. At the same time, Ms.Dikshit said the Apollo project had been delayed as clearance was awaited from the Union Environment Ministry.

Regarding the 1,000 MW power project in Chhattisgarh, she said that the Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL) had shown interest in constructing the project for the Delhi Government. They have experience in execution of such projects and it would not be a bad idea to employ their services. She said the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Ajit Jogi, had assured her that necessary land would be provided and all clearances would be accorded expeditiously. ``It is unfortunate that the previous BJP Government did not deem it fit to take steps to enhance internal generation of Delhi which has remained stagnant for two decades. Our commitment remains unflinched and we intend to go ahead with the power reforms to streamline the entire system,'' she added.

Mr. Maken said the project, costing about Rs. 1,100 crores, consists of two 105 MW open cycle gas turbines and one 122 MW combined cycle steam turbine. The project would be executed and management by -- Pragati Power Corporation Limited.

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