The NTPC officials handed over the cheque to Yeddyurappa at a simple ceremony in his chamber at the Vidhana Soudha and requested him to be present for the foundation laying ceremony likely to take place next month. The power project needs 3,500 acres of land at Kudgi. An MoU was signed in this regard between NTPC, Power Company of Karnataka Limited (PCKL) and the Government of Karnataka in January 2009. Last November, Yeddyurappa visited the location and directed the officials to expedite the implementation. A month later, the government notified the land acquisition in the government gazzetteer.
Addressing the media after receiving the cheque, the chief minister said the Kudgi project would bridge the 20 per cent gap between demand and supply of electricity in the State.
In the initial phase of the commissioning, expected to be around 2013-14, the State would begin receiving at least 2,000 MW of power. The NTPC will be investing Rs 20,000 crores in the project and would be using super critical technology that would reduce carbon dioxide emission and efficiency and lower consumption of coal. It will also introduce high concentration slurry disposal system. The State has agreed to allocate 5.2 TMC of water to the project from Almatti Dam.
