Local protests hit power generation capacity additiion target of XIth plan

The country will miss its power generation target by a bigger margin than previously estimated as local people are opposing new projects, Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said .

"As I speak to you, there are 16 plants in deep trouble as local people do not want power plants in their area," he said. The northern Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra and southern Andhra Pradesh state are among those that have witnessed local protest against power plants, the minister said.

India had initially planned to add 78,000 megawatts of capacity in five years to March 2012, but the target was lowered to 62,000 megawatts, Chidambaram told a business conference. Poor infrastructure, including severe power shortages, is seen as a key obstacle to faster growth in Asia's third-largest economy, but capacity addition has been slow.

Neighbouring China was building power stations much faster than India, we added only 22,300 megawatts in the past three years, Chidambaram said. "Contrast this to what China does: Adds 100,000 megawatts capacity every year. And we are talking about not reaching even a capacity of 62,000 megawatt in five years," he said.

Protests and controversies have dogged several projects including dams, steel plants and mines in India as local people, including tribesmen in remote regions, are reluctant to surrender their land or they demand a higher compensation. "They do not want to give away lands...are against nuclear power plants, against thermal power plants and (hydropower) plants," Chidambaram said.

It is indicative of the trust deficit that has developed between people, industry and the government, which needs to be addressed, he said. India wants to build up to 30 more nuclear reactors in addition to the existing 19 and aims to generate 20,000 megawatts of nuclear power by 2020, up from the current 4,560 MW.