Girye Ultra Mega Power Project

Girye Ultra Mega Power Project is a proposed coal plant in Maharashtra, India.

Location
The map below shows the village of Girye, but not the exact location of the project:

Background
Girye Ultra Mega Power Project is one of nine Ultra Mega Power Projects proposed by the government of India as part of a strategy to add an additional 100,000 megawatts of generation capacity by 2017. The 4,000 megawatt project is in the state of Maharastra.

The special purpose company created by the Indian government's Power Finance Corporation (PFC) to develop the project is Coastal Maharashtra Power Limited. According to the PFC's website, as of February 2012, the project has not yet been awarded to any bidder.

Opposition to coal power station plan
In 2007 the Hindustan Times reported that the site for the project was selected "after the Central Electricity Commission carried out a detailed feasibility study and gave its go-ahead completely overlooking sensitivities of local alphonso growers." (Alphonso is another name for a variety of mango). The newspaper reported that the "3,000-acre piece of land originally earmarked for the project spreads over four villages with a population of about 4,000." It was also reported that the project was opposed by "a determined group of alphonso mango farmers who have refused to yield even an inch of their land" for the project as there is no alternative land available for alphonso farming.

The Hindustan Times reported that of the 9 locations initially selected for Ultra Mega Power Project "three including Girye in Maharashtra, Akaltara in Chattisgarh and Tadri in Karnataka may have to be eventually abandoned. Despite being a pit head project, the Akaltara project has been dogged by coal linkage issues, while the Tadri project has been delayed due to various reasons, including the unstable political situation in Karnataka."

Project on back burner
In October 2007 the Ministry of Coal noted that the Central Electricity Authority "had identified the site in consultation with the State Government. About 3000 acres of land had been identified near villages Tirlot/ Saundle/ Padel in Taluka Deogarh, Distt. Sindhudurg. However, due to local agitation, requisite clearances for the land are not available. Therefore, the bidding process has not been initiated. Ministry of Power has taken up the matter with the State Government for suggesting an alternate/additional site. In a recent communication, the State Government has indicated the availability of additional site at Dighi. However, the Central Electricity Authority, after carrying out the preliminary investigations has suggested that owing to limited availability of land, the site may not be suitable for development of the UMPP for 4000 MW. Final position from the State Government is awaited. The bidding process will be initiated after availability of a suitable site is confirmed by the State Government."

Project Details
Sponsor: Coastal Maharashtra Power Limited Location: Girye village, Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra state, India Coordinates: 16.527161, 73.326656 (approximate) Status: Deferred Nameplate capacity: 4,000MW Type: Projected in service: Coal Type: Coal Source: Estimated annual CO2: Source of financing:

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