By IANS,
New Delhi : Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde Tuesday asked the coal and environment ministries for coal linkages and quick environmental clearance for upcoming power projects.
Shinde made the request at a state power ministers’ conference here, which was also attended by Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Coal Shriprakash Jaiswal, and New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah.
“The minister asked his colleagues to clear obstacles coming in the way of new power projects. He wanted coal linkages and speedy environmental clearance for these plants,” a power ministry official said, requesting anonymity.
The two issues were also raised by several state power ministers.
Another area of discussion was augmentation of the country’s power generation capacity to meet the Plan period targets. In the current Five-Year Plan that ends in 2012, it has been targeted to add 78,700 MW.
However, in the first two years of the Plan period, only 15,036 MW have been added.
Speaking to reporters later, Shinde ruled out revising the target. “We will pressurise the agencies concerned to expedite power generation to meet the target,” he said.
“The states have also been told that they would have to meet their own power needs,” the minister said, explaining that the central government only supplemented projects initiated by the states.