Power behemoth NTPC may have to back out from implementing its proposed 1,320-mw power plant at Katwa if it doesn?t get the required 1,000 acre.
NTPC chairman and managing director Arup Roychowdhury told reporters on the sidelines of a Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BNCCI) seminar that the general thumb rule was 1 acre for every megawatt of capacity addition, which means that for a 2×660 mw project the company would require 1,320 acres. But technological advancement has brought down this requirement to 0.7 acre per megawatt and this would require 1,100 acre to put up the 1,320 mw power plant. ?We can even do it on 1,000 acre,? Roychowdhury said. ?But so far the government has acquired 337 acre,? he added.
?We cannot proceed with the project until we have 1,000 acre in hand,? Roychowdhury said.
In fact, NTPC, in December last year, signed an agreement with the then Left Front government to take over the R9,600-crore project, to be funded in a the debt-equity ratio of 70:30. While 337 acre was already acquired, the government issued notice for further acquisition.
But with the change of guard in West Bengal, the new chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, decided that the government would not acquire any land for industry and cancelled all acquisition notifications.
Roychowdhury said he knew that notifications were issued for further acquisition but thereafter was not aware if further acquisition was made or acquisition notifications were cancelled.
?It is not that we are moving out of the project right now but we cannot implement unless we have 1,000 acre in hand,? Roychowdhury said.