Land acquisition, forest clearance hamper 17 mega Thermal Power projects in India

According to the government statistics, three units of Barh STPP-I, NTPC, and others have already registered a cost overrun of 145.16 percent from their original costs of Rs 8693 crore. It has also registered a time overrun of 134 to 136 months. Similarly, two power projects in Jharkhand with a capacity of 2780 MW also registered a cost overrun of 5.55 percent and a time overrun of 44 months, writes ETV Bharat's Gautam Debroy.

New Delhi: Land acquisition, delay in supply of equipment, and changes in regulations are some of the critical issues that have hampered the commissioning of as many as 17 mega thermal power projects in India. The projects having a total capacity of 17,000 MW are spread across eight states. Such delay already resulted in both time and cost overruns.

According to the government statistics available with ETV Bharat, four projects in Bihar, two projects in Jharkhand, one 800 MW thermal power project in Madhya Pradesh, two projects in Odisha, two projects in Rajasthan, one 500 MW project in Tamil Nadu, one 1600 MW thermal power project in Telangana and four delayed projects with a power generating capacity of 4620 MW in Uttar Pradesh have posed a big challenge for India's power generating capacity. Four projects in Bihar with a power generating capacity of 4210 MW have already registered both costs and time overruns.

According to the government statistics, three units of Barh STPP-I, NTPC, and others have already registered a cost overrun of 145.16 percent from their original costs of Rs 8693 crore. It has also registered a time overrun of 134 to 136 months. Similarly, two power projects in Jharkhand with a capacity of 2780 MW also registered a cost overrun of 5.55 percent and a time overrun of 44 months.

"There are various factors and issues which affect the execution and completion of power projects. The issues also vary from sector to sector," a senior official in the power ministry told this correspondent. As per the government records, the Covid-19 pandemic has also affected the execution of the projects.

Issues in land acquisition (procedural delays, unavailability of land records, court cases, unreasonable demands by landowners, and changes in the land acquisition act) are some of the factors that hamper the commissioning of the thermal power projects.

"Issues arising due to change of law, regulation, norms. Delay in right of use and right of way of land for makeup water pipes and transmission lines for makeup water pump house in many projects. Difference of R&R politics from state to state is also a cause of protest by the owners of the land," the government statistics pointed out.

Among the states, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu faces major issues of land acquisition for the commissioning of the mega thermal power projects. Bihar, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh also face problems like land, forest, and environmental clearance.

Another major issue that creates a major problem for power projects in Bihar is inadequate infrastructure facilities. The power ministry official said that land acquisition, coal linkage, and railway lines are the major issues for these 17 power projects.

"With an interaction with the railway board, we have been able to resolve substantially. Again post Covid, we have this problem with the financial position of the contractors because of the delays and the demobilization that has happened. The delays in thermal power plants have happened again on account of land acquisition, contract disputes, etc. We are able to resolve contract disputes," the official said.

There are many instances where land acquisition has been delayed. The farmers gave asked for almost a crore an acre compensation which makes the project unviable, the official said. As per record, India is the third-largest producer and second-largest consumer of electricity worldwide, with an installed power capacity of 395.07 GW, as of January 2022. The power consumption is estimated to reach 1,894.7 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2022.