Punjab power projects raise environment concerns

In what could be a setback to the ambitious plans of the Punjab government on power production, environment minister Jairam Ramesh has expressed concern over the proposed locations of as many as four thermal power plants in a 50 km radius around Bathinda, which already has two thermal stations.

Apart from two coal-based thermal plants already functional, four more are expected to be functional in the next three years within 50 km radius of Bathinda, a district already afflicted with high incidence of cancer. The state government claims that the new thermal plants in Bathinda would use latest pollution-free supercritical technology, but environmentalists are apprehensive in the light of Singrauli experience. The five thermal plants in UP’s Singrauli contribute heavily to mercury pollution through power generation.