NTPC may exit Orissa over delays in getting land for projects

With land acquisition hurdles delaying its proposed large-sized power projects at Darlipali and Gajmara in Orissa, state-run NTPC Ltd is looking at alternative sites outside the state.

India’s largest power generation utility has been unable to place a multi-billion dollar power generation equipment order for the proposed projects as planned because of the delays.

“When will Orissa give land? We might have to look at other options. These bids are time-bound. We are looking at alternatives,” a senior NTPC executive said on condition of anonymity.

While the projects have have been delayed for over a year, the hardening of stand by the Union government-owned NTPC comes in the backdrop of Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik leading the opposition of the states to the central government’s proposal to establish a National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC).

NTPC’s stand has nothing to do with NCTC, said the executive cited above.

“We have been trying to impress upon Orissa for a long time. How long can we wait?” he said.

NTPC had sought bids for around `22,000 crore of boilers and turbine generators last year for proposed projects at Kudgi (2,400 megawatts, or MW) in Karnataka, Lara (1,600MW) in Chhattisgarh, and Darlipali (1,600MW) and Gajmara (1,600MW) in Orissa. The projects will have a total capacity of 4,000MW each after all the development phases are completed. While NTPC has placed orders for the Kudgi project, it has been unable to do so for the remaining ones due to delays in land acquisition. The utility requires an acre of land per megawatt.

“We have to find land for our projects. While leaving Orissa is not a bad idea, we need to find ideal locations in other states,” said another NTPC executive also requesting anonymity.

G. Mathivathanan, secretary in Orissa’s department of energy, said NTPC had not sent any such communication to the state in this regard.

“The proposal for land for Darlipali has been recommended by the energy department to the revenue department. It will be notified,” said Mathivathanan. “Land for Gajmara is under consideration. There are some issues about it. The state government will take a call on it.” The delay in awarding equipment orders may not only derail NTPC’s capacity-addition plans, but will also worsen the power shortage in the country.

The utility accounts for 19.34%, or 36,014MW of India’s installed power generation capacity of 186,654MW. It’s targeting an installed capacity of 66,000MW by 2017 and 128,000MW by 2032.

NTPC has projects totalling 14,088MW under construction. Equipment for 16,192MW is still under the tendering process, while it plans to award orders for equipment meant to generate 40,000MW during the 12th Plan (2012-17) for about `2 trillion. The company has 15 coal-based, seven gas-based and six joint venture power stations.