Thermal plant’s leaks similar to bike, car repairs: Minister Senthilbalaji
Electricity Minister V Senthilbalaji on Tuesday equated the frequent bursting of North Chennai Thermal Power Plants’ fly ash pipelines to bikes and cars getting repaired on the way to work. He said that they were taking quick action to fix the leakage as and when it happens.
Despite the National Green Tribunal pulling up TANGEDCO on several occasions for the rampant ash pipeline leak, it continues to cause severe damage to the environment and Ennore Creek. The minister commented after inspecting the construction of the Ennore SEZ Super Critical Thermal Power Station on Tuesday.
When asked about the frequent bursting of fly ash pipelines of NCTPS, the minister said that whenever there was a leak, immediate action was taken to rectify it. When a reporter pointed out about a leak on Sunday during the Minister’s visit, Senthilbalaji said that it was like a bike or car getting repaired while going to work. “Since you (reporter) belong to the local area, you’ll be knowing the immediate steps taken to rectify the issues,” he said.
On the Ennore SEZ project progress, the minister said that the 1,330 mega watt project was supposed to be commissioned by March 2018 but till now only 53% of the work has been completed.
“We’ve asked the BHEL and the EPC contractor of the project to increase manpower to complete work soon. The first unit will be commissioned in March 2024 and the second unit in June 2024,” he clarified.
To a question on the new incident of the missing coal in the NCTPS, the minister dismissed it as hearsay. “Along with the TANGEDCO CMD, we’re monitoring the coal stock report daily. The committee formed to investigate on the missing coal during the previous regime has submitted its report and soon action would be taken on it,” he added.
The minister said that Tamil Nadu has imported coal at the cheapest price of $143 per ton while other states paid $184-187 per ton.
We’ve asked the BHEL and the EPC contractor of the project to increase manpower to complete work soon. The first unit will be commissioned in March 2024, and the second in June 2024 — V Senthilbalaji, Electricity Minister