Engineers flay GNDTP closure

Rajay Deep/Daily Post
Bathinda

The state government plans to close down the 440-MW Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant here has raised the hackles of PSEB Engineers Association.

The Association members strongly condemned the government plans and maintained that the decision to close down the Bathinda thermal plant was quite surprising as it had come in the wake of expenditure running into hundreds of crores of rupees on its renovation and modernisation (R&M) so as to extend its life by another two decades.

The Association apprehended that vested interests, who were eyeing the 1,700 acres of prime land of the plant, were misleading the state government to close this plant. The engineers suggested that instead of closing the GNDTP, its land might be utilised to install new 500/600 MW super-critical technology units under the state sector.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, during his surprise visit to Bathinda on August 14, had confirmed to mediapersons the government’s decision to shut down the GNDTP after all new thermal plants coming up in the state start functioning. As the GNDTP was past its age, it was proving to be a bane for city residents as its chimneys billow tonnes of fly ash that resulted in several diseases.

Giving details, the association said that Punjab State Electricity Board, now known as Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, had already spent Rs 183 crore on R&M of GNDTP Unit-I and II between 2004 and 2006. They further claimed that pollution from chimneys of these units after R&M was well within the limit of 150 mg/m3, set by Punjab Pollution Control Board.

Contract for R&M of Unit-3 and 4, which included augmentation of unit capacity from 110 MW to 120 MW at a total cost of Rs 470 crore, had also been awarded to Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) in 2006 and 80 per cent of material for the purpose was already supplied, the association contended.

Stating that Rs 285 crore out of the total amount of Rs 470 crore had been paid to BHEL, the association members said, “The R&M works of Unit-III is in progress and is likely to be over by November this year, while the work on Unit-IV is planned to be started after October this year. After the R&M, the suspended particulate matter (SPM) of all the chimneys would be within limits.”

Supporting the running of the plant, the engineers said that the cost of power produced by this thermal plant was comparable or even less than upcoming new super critical plants. “With the closure of this plant, not only thousand of crores of public money will go waste, but also employment to thousands of people will also be lost.”

The association members said that with the decision to close down GNDTP, apprehensions on private sector monopoly in power

generation seemed to be coming true.