Orissa, J'khand, Chattisgarh favour equitable power dispensation

Bhubaneswar,Dec 27 (UNI) Chief Ministers of Orissa, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh today demanded that the states be allowed to invite Independent Power Producers(IPP) to set up plants through MoUs on mutually agreed terms.

At a conclave on promoting the interest of the mineral rich states held here, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda and Chattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh said the IPPs should not be denied coal linkage and coal block allocation.

The IPPs are the best placed to set up their projects which would benefit the nation in general and concerned states in particular, the three Chief Ministers said in a joint memorandum submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

''Non-acceptance of this strategy would mean that backward states like Orissa, Chhatisgarh and Jharkhand are discriminated and the financial benefit accruing from the major investments would be curtailed,'' they said.

The joint memorandum signed by the three Chief Ministers said the achievement of ambitious target of 8 per cent annual growth for the country would be adversely affected in the absence of early solution to the present inequitable arrangement with relation to the power sector for production of electricity.

Stating that the private sector investors were in favour of a clear cut legal arrangement to provide revenue stream to the state where the generation capacities were to be added, the memorandum demanded enactment of a separate central legislation or suitable provision in the existing Central Act.

The legislation, the three Chief Ministers said, should have the levy of duty on generation of power by the concerned state government, allocation of an appropriate portion of power generated to the host state at variable cost and a token contribution by the IPPs for ecological regeneration in the vicinity of power plants.

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