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Environmental disaster awaits city, Vidarbha-TIMES OF INDIA
TNN, Sep 10, 2010, 07.15am IST NAGPUR: 
An environmental disaster is awaiting Vidarbha due to too many power plants coming up in the region. While the state government always thinks of western Maharashtra, Marathwada or Konkan for projects like car plants, it zeroes in on Vidarbha for power plants. The region has four Mahagencorun power plants having 4,775 MW capacity plus a private sector plant of 275 MW.
Work is going on power plants having 10,000 MW capacity. The government has signed MoUs for 49 plants having 35,000 MW capacity. Mahagenco and MSEDCL want to add another 6,000 MW. Of this, a fourth or over 11,000 MW would be in Nagpur district alone. The power plants are already in conflict with forest areas around them. They will make many cities uninhabitable once they start. Chandrapur is only the beginning.
Asingle 2,340 MW power plant in its vicinity has made the city the fourth of around 7,000 MW in the district. Vidarbha Environmental Action Group has estimated that if all 49 power plants come up, they would require 1,464 million cubic metre (mm3) water. The storage capacity of major reservoirs of Vidarbha is 4,822 mm3 or just under a third of entire storage. These power plants will also need 80,000 hectares land. The government does not bother about even the drinking water needs of Vidarbhaites.
Dolbee Mining and Power Ltd had sought a reservation of 55 mm3 from Kanhan river for its 1,320 MW plant near Saoner. In spite of knowing that Nagpur's requirement of 200 mm3 can not be met without Kanhan, the government has given an in principle approval to it
An environmental disaster is awaiting Vidarbha due to too many power plants coming up in the region. While the state government always thinks of western Maharashtra, Marathwada or Konkan for projects like car plants, it zeroes in on Vidarbha for power plants. The region has four Mahagencorun power plants having 4,775 MW capacity plus a private sector plant of 275 MW.Work is going on power plants having 10,000 MW capacity. The government has signed MoUs for 49 plants having 35,000 MW capacity. Mahagenco and MSEDCL want to add another 6,000 MW. Of this, a fourth or over 11,000 MW would be in Nagpur district alone. The power plants are already in conflict with forest areas around them. They will make many cities uninhabitable once they start. Chandrapur is only the beginning.
Asingle 2,340 MW power plant in its vicinity has made the city the fourth of around 7,000 MW in the district. Vidarbha Environmental Action Group has estimated that if all 49 power plants come up, they would require 1,464 million cubic metre (mm3) water. The storage capacity of major reservoirs of Vidarbha is 4,822 mm3 or just under a third of entire storage. These power plants will also need 80,000 hectares land. The government does not bother about even the drinking water needs of Vidarbhaites.
Dolbee Mining and Power Ltd had sought a reservation of 55 mm3 from Kanhan river for its 1,320 MW plant near Saoner. In spite of knowing that Nagpur's requirement of 200 mm3 can not be met without Kanhan, the government has given an in principle approval to it
Read more: Environmental disaster awaits city, Vidarbha - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6528233.cms?prtpage=1#ixzz0z8CM4CfV
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