Clearance for Hanakona plant withdrawn

The power company misled officials and secured permission

The Union Ministry of Environment and Forest had given permission to Ind Bharat Power to set up a 450-MW thermal power plant at Hanakona in the taluk.

Opposing the setting up of the plant, Hanakona Ushna Vidyut Sthavara Virodhi Horata Samiti and advocate K R Desai had filed a petition with the Environment Appellate Tribunal. Desai had in his petition said that though the plant was just

5 km from Kotigaon Wildlife Sancturay in Goa, it was shown as 17 km and in spite of the plant coming up on the banks of Kali river, it was shown as a ditch instead of the river.

Misleading

The power company had got the permission by misleading the officials. In the light of this the clearance should be cancelled, Desai had said arraying the Ministry of Environment and Forest and Ind Bharat Power (Karwar) as respondents in his petition.

Inspection

The MoEF officials had appeared before the Tribunal and sought time to give the details. A five-member team from MoEF headed by  Dr K S Reddy, Sudhakar Reddy and M M Kamat was sent to Karwar to inspect.

The committee which submitted its report on April 15 to MoEF had recommended to the Tribunal to withdraw the clearance.

Taking serious note of the recommendation, Ministry of Environment and Forest had on Monday appeared before the Tribunal and filed an affidavit stating that the clearance given to Ind Bharat Power company would be cancelled.

Supreme Court advocate Devdutt Kamat had appeared on behalf of Desai.

However, the executive director of Ind Bharat Power (Karwar) Ltd A N Vasu Rao had in January last itself filed an affidavit stating that due to opposition to the setting up of the plant and the environmental issues, the plant had been shifted to Tamil Nadu.