NTPC gives Rs 100 cr for Mouda unit land

Nagpur, Sep 21 (UNI) Public sector power utility National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) has handed Rs 100 crore to the local administration for the purchase of land for its proposed 1,000 megawatt (MW) unit at Mouda near here.

The cheque was handed over by NTPC General Manager S L Arya to District Collector Praveen Darade here yesterday.

Speaking to newsmen later, Mr Darade said the amount would used to acquire 603 hectares of land for the project site at Mouda, about 45 km from here. The acquisition would involve 953 families living in 12 villages in the area, but no human habitation would be affected, he said.

The land being acquired did not include any forest land, either, Mr Darade said. The farmers whose land was being acquired had agreed, after negotiations, to accept a flat rate of Rs eight lakh per acre, he said.

The land was expected to cost around Rs 200 crore, and the cheque represented the first instalment, he said, adding that the project had been included in the XI Five-Year Plan.

Mr Arya said the project, which would include two units of 500 MW each, would cost Rs 5,700 crore and was expected to be completed in four years. The project had coal linkage from Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, and would get the supply from a mine in Orissa, he said.

NTPC would start work on the project as soon as the land acquisition was completed, which was expected to take about a month, Mr Arya said. The public sector Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) had been selected for the supply of turbines, he added.

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