Raigarh Project (Jindal)

Raigarh Project (Jindal) is a proposed 1320 megawatt (MW) coal plant in Lohakhan village, Raigarh district, Chhattisgarh state, India.

Background
The project is sponsored by Jindal India Thermal Power, which has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding and subsequently an Implementation Agreement with the government of Chhattisgarh in connection with the project. In addition, the company has received an in-principle approval for the acquisition of land from the Chhattisgarh government and has made an application to the State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) for acquisition of 1,045 acres of land. The company has received a water allocation for the project, received approval for chimney height from the Airports Authority of India, and applied to the Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) for a transmission linkage. The Ministry of Environment and Forests has issued Terms of Reference (ToR), and the draft report of the environmental assessment study for the project has been filed with the SIPB.

Opposition
There was a public hearing for the project in January 2008 and September 2013, the latter of which drew a crowd of over 4,000 village residents. Residents expressed concerns about pollution from the power station, and said project sponsor Jindal was trying to bribe locals by building a school, a hospital, and a college in the area. According to the website Down to Earth: "In the past five years, violence against the activists and residents opposing JSPL project dampened the morale of people," including one person who was shot.

Project Details
Sponsor: Jindal India Thermal Power Location: Lohakhan village, Raigarh district, Chhattisgarh state, India Coordinates: 21.898611, 83.464722 Status: Advanced development Nameplate capacity: 1320 MW (2 x 660 MW) Type: Supercritical Projected in service: Coal Source: The project is described as a "pit-head" plant. Jindal has applied to the Ministry of Coal for a coal linkage for a slightly smaller project (1100 MW) Jindal state that coal is expected to be sourced from the Mand - Raigarh coal fields. Estimated annual CO2: 7,806,085 tons Source of financing:

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