Raipur, Aug 25 (Inditop.com) The 1,200 MW thermal power project of GMR Energy Ltd, a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Ltd, slated to come up in coal-rich Chhattisgarh, is likely to be delayed because land acquisition is yet to be completed, a company official said Tuesday.
The Rs.5,500 crore power project is to come up in Raikheda area of Raipur district, about 35 km from here.
“We had planned to begin construction work for the 1,200 MW (600X2) project by September 2009 but it is set to be delayed as land acquisition is yet to be completed,” Satish Batra, general manager (corporate relations) of the GMR Energy Chhattisgarh project, told Inditop.
The company needs 1,000 acres, including 550 acres for the main plant area and 230 acres for a green belt, but only about 70 percent of the land has so far been acquired. The company is purchasing land directly from farmers.
Batra said some 60 percent of the project land belonged to farmers while 40 percent was owned by the state government. The company is keen to commission the project by 2012.
Though Batra was hopeful that construction work would begin by the end of October, company sources said it would take more time as there was considerable opposition from local people who feel that pollution levels would increase. The area is already battling pollution from the dozens of sponge iron units operational in nearby Siltara industrial area.
