Badal gives nod for setting up 1000 MW power plant

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today gave in-principle approval for a gas based 1,000 MW power plant, to be set up in collaboration with Gas Authority of India (Gail) at Ropar. The decision was taken here by Badal at a meeting with the team of senior officers of Gail, led by its Chairman and Managing Director B C Tripathi.

Badal asked the CMD Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) to convene a separate meeting with the top brass of Gail to thrash out various issues involved in establishing the power plant at Ropar. It was proposed to have three units of 330 MW each. Initially, 330 MW unit could be set up and other two units could follow, an official spokesman said.
    
The project was seen as financially viable and self sustaining as 150 acres of land was already available in the vicinity of the Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant at Ropar, and an assured gas supply from Dadri-Nangal pipeline was on its way, he said.
    
Badal asked Tripathi to immediately set up enabling infrastructure in the state for the assured supply of CNG to the transport sector. The Chief Minister also agreed to the proposal of Tripathi to initially run the city bus service in Ludhiana and Jalandhar on CNG which could be replicated later by the state government to run the Punjab Roadways and PEPSU buses.
    
Badal has asked the Principal Secretary Local Government to work out modalities to start inter-city bus service on pilot basis which would not only be affordable but also pollution free. The spokesman said this model could also be applied in other municipal corporation cities of Amritsar, Bathinda, Patiala and Mohali later on.
    
Badal also asked the Chief Secretary to get the "master gas plan" prepared from Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation and Gail to ensure uninterrupted gas supply in the state. Badal also asked the Punjab Pollution Control Board to issue directives to the industrial hubs along the Dadri-Nangal gas pipeline for immediate conversion of fuel usage to gas.
    
Tripathi apprised the Chief Minister that the present shortage of 3,500 MW in the state could be catered by the gas based peak power plants by 2014-15.
    
The share of gas from Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline would be made available from 2016-17 to meet power shortage in the state, the meeting was informed.
    
Tripathi emphasised the need for formation of joint working group of PSPCL and Gail for prompt resolution of all issues related to power generation. He also informed the Chief Minister that the state government should make optimum utilisation of gas in the power sector, milk plants, public transport, industries and fuel as it was affordable as well as environment-friendly. Besides, its usage could also save lot of revenue incurred on diesel in transport sector.
    
Meanwhile, the Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh asked the Transport Secretary Mandeep Singh to sign an MoU with Gail within a fortnight for initiating an action bound plan to run state-owned buses on CNG. Rakesh Singh also asked the transport department to explore all possibilities to switch over the public transport from diesel to CNG in a phased manner.
    
The Chief Secretary also asked the transport department to explore the ways and means to start few direct bus routes from Amritsar to Delhi on CNG as the Gail had already a network of CNG stations en route National Highway 1 at Delhi and Sonepat.
    
Likewise, the other stations at Ambala, Rajpura, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar would be soon set up for the purpose of refuelling, he said.
    
Conceding the request of the CMD GAIL to allot land for its zonal office at Mohali, Badal asked the Chief Secretary to take up this issue with Greater Mohali Area Development Authority for the allotment of suitable site.