Dahanu Power Station

Dahanu Power Station is a proposed coal plant in Maharashtra, India.

Background
Dahanu Power Station is a 500 megawatt (MW) coal plant in Maharashtra state, India. It consists of two 250 MW units, both built in 1995; it is operated by Reliance Infrastructure Limited, which until 2008 was known as Reliance Energy and until 2002 as Bombay Suburban Electric Supply (BSES).

Proposed 1200 MW Expansion
According to an August 2007 press report, Reliance Infrastructure was in the process of getting the required clearances for a 1200 MW expansion at the same site. The project would not require additional land. It would use imported coal. The company said that it planned to include a flue gas desulphurisation unit with the plant.

Opposition to Dahanu expansion
The expansion of the Dahanu plant is opposed by local farmers and fishermen, who complain about the effect of air and water pollution from the existing plant on chikoo orchards, mango orchards, and coconuts, as well fishing. One of the leaders of the opposition, Nergis Irani, led a successful campaign that resulted in the area's designation as "ecologically fragile" by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 1991. In 1996, Irani's organization Dahanu Taluka Environmental Welfare Association (DTEWA) won a Supreme Court order creating the Dahanu Taluka Environmental Protection Authority (DTEPA) in "order to address the complex issues of planning and management of ecologically fragile areas." In 2005 the DTEWA won a legal order to require the plant to guarantee the setting up of flue gas desulphurisation by a bank guarantee of Rs. 300 crore, in order to end 18 years of delays in controlling sulphur emissions.

Additional articles on the opposition to the Dahanu expansion:
 * Michelle Chawla, "How Dahanu epitomises the environment vs development debate," InfoChange, April 2009 (five part series)
 * Shweta Karnik, Looking back at Dahanu, DNA, October 24, 2006

Documents

 * Text of 1996 Supreme Court order in Bittu Seghal & ANR vs. Union of INdia and ORS
 * Ministry of Environment and Forests Notification creating Dahanu Taluka Environmental Protection Authority - December 19, 1996, including 2001 amendments]

Citizen Organizations

 * Dahanu Parisar Bachao Samiti (DPBS) - network of farmers and horticulturalists organized in 2003 to protest renewal or Reliance Energy's consent to operate license
 * Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH)
 * Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC)
 * Dahanu Taluka Environmental Protection Authority (DTEPA)
 * Dahanu Taluka Environment Welfare Association (DTEWA)
 * Tamarind Tree

Project Details for 1200 MW Expansion
Sponsor: Reliance Infrastructure Limited Location: Dahanu village, Thane district, Maharashtra state, India Coordinates: 19.9545, 72.7478 Status: Uncertain Nameplate capacity: 1200 MW Type: Projected in service: Coal Source: Estimated annual CO2: Source of financing:

Related SourceWatch articles

 * India and coal
 * Proposed coal plants in India