No proposal from government to close Bathinda plant, says power corp chief
Umesh Dewan
Tribune News Service

Patiala, August 25
The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) top brass has categorically stated that so far it has received no proposal from the state government on closing the 440 MW Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant (GNDTP) in Bathinda.

In an interview, power corporation CMD KD Chaudhri said there had been no official communication on the issue.

Maintaining that the plant could be kept operational for another 10 years, Chaudhri said; “Neither anyone from the state government, nor the GNDTP authorities in Bathinda have sent any proposal to us for shutting down the plant.”

On the pollution levels, Chaudhri said the prescribed pollution limit for Units 3 and 4 of the plant was 100 mg/Nm3 and the concentration of the SPM (suspended particulate matter) recorded by the corporation was 80-90 mg/Nm3.

“After renovation, the pollution levels are bound to come down further,” he said.

However, contrary to the claims by the PSPCL authorities, documents in possession of The Tribune show that on June 23, 2011, the Punjab Pollution Control Board took samples from GNDTP, Bathinda. The average concentration of the SPM recorded from Unit 1 (Path A) was about 163 mg/Nm3 and Unit 1 (Path B) 159 mg/Nm3, whereas the figure for Unit 2 (Path A) was 167 mg/Nm3 and Unit 2 (Path B) 163 mg/Nm3, which is certainly more than the prescribed pollution limits. “Unit 3 is closed. The concentration of SPM from Unit 4 (Path A) has been recorded at 260 mg/Nm3 and Unit 4 (Path B) 280 mg/Nm3,” informed PPCB Chairman KS Pannu.

The board authorities said after the renovation of the Units 1 and 2, the SPM had decreased drastically and was at present only marginally more than the prescribed limit.