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Railway authorities have assured the Karnataka government that it would be possible to supply coal from the Goa port to Kudagi in Bijapur district where a 4,000-MW thermal power project is proposed to be set up.The Railway authorities are said to have conveyed this when a delegation, led by Principal Secretary to the Energy Department, K Jairaj, called on the Railway Board Secretary in New Delhi. The Railway authorities assured the delegation that the doubling of railway line between Goa Port and Bijapur which is underway would be completed on priority.

According to Jairaj, the authorities in the Shipping Ministry are also quite optimistic about the expansion of the Goa port which will be done at a cost of Rs 500 crore.Already a pre-feasibility study has been done on the port.

Referring to the meeting they had with the Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday, regarding the extension of the benefits due to an ultra-mega power project to the 4000-MW thermal plant proposed at Kudagi, Jairaj said there had been a positive response.

However the state is said to have received no positive response to its plea for allotment of 500 MW power from the unallocated quota of the Centre. During the talks held with the Union Minister for Power, Sushilkumar Shinde, the State delegation was told that as most states are experiencing a power crisis, it was not possible for the Centre to fulfil Karnataka’s plea.

According to Jairaj, the highlight of the state delegation’s visit to Delhi was the nod given by the National Thermal Power Corporation Chairman R S Sharma to the setting up a 2000-MW coalbased thermal power plant at Mannur in Bijapur district.

Stating that a high-power committee meeting held on November 12 in Bangalore had already authorised the Bijapur Deputy Commissioner to initiate the process of acquisition of land for the project, Jairaj said that soon an NTPC team from Delhi would visit the state to inspect the land. The state government has already sanctioned Rs 23 crore for land acquisition.

Courtsey - Indian Express