Lok Sabha Debates
Need To Review The Proposed Setting Up Of Thermal Power Plants In And Around Nagpur ... on 23 August, 2012
> Title: Need to review the proposed setting up of thermal power plants in and around Nagpur City, Maharashtra.
SHRI VILAS MUTTEMWAR (NAGPUR): Madam, I raise a very important matter regarding the setting up of various Thermal Power plants in the Vidarbha region The State Government of Maharashtra have decided to set up Thermal Power Plants in and around Nagpur of about 45000 MW capacity. The setting up of these Thermal Power Plants will create numerous problems to the people like creation of heavy pollution which is very much expected from such Thermal Power Plants. The more acute problem will be the creation of paucity of water in the Nagpur city which is already far less than the normal demand for the people. The creation of such power plants requires large quantity of water almost more than the quantity of coal to be fed in this plant. Therefore, that will largely eat into the water requirement of Nagpur.
The proposed Thermal Power Plant will be consuming 7000 tons of coal and 35000 cubic liters of water and generating 2700 metric tons of ash daily. In addition, there will be large number of movement of trucks to the plant for supply of coal and removai of ash. Besides, a lot of land will be required for the setting up of these power plants which would deprive the farmers of their livelihood. The farmers of Vidarbha are already in a very depressed situation and acquiring of their fertile land would create further problems for them.
These power plants are being planned in a haphazard manner without realizing the adverse impact they will have on the people. There needs to be a clear cut policy formulated for setting up of thermal power plants in important cities like Nagpur. While on the one hand Government is taking various measures to create additional infrastructure for Nagpur city, particularly taking the environmental development but on the other hand setting up a thermal power plant of high capacity will prove negative in the direction of these measures. The power plants would bring disaster to the region by destroying the environment and causing irreparable damage to the health of the people and to the farming community. There is already huge problem of pollution in the Vidarbha region, particularly in certain districts like Chandrapur which is amongst the most polluted places in the country. Commissioning of more thermal power plants will not only aggravate the already existing problem of pollution in the region. Nagpur is the fastest developing city and lot of attention is being paid to maintain the ecological conditions.
Keeping in view the several problems the proposed thermal power plants would create, I would urge upon the Government to have the entire policy of setting up of large thermal power plants in one particular region be reviewed.