Press Trust Of India / Raipur August 25, 2008, 0:55 IST

The Chhattisgarh government today strongly opposed the coal import policy of the Centre saying any such scheme will lead to escalation of power tariff in the country.

"The Centre's decision to start five ultra mega power projects (UMPPs) with imported coal would have a huge cost escalation in power production and ultimately the consumers will be burdened with higher tariff cost,' Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board Chairman Rajib Ranjan told reporters here.

SAIL, the largest steel producer in India, is preparing to modernise and expand its facilities in its golden jubilee year.

The Chhattisgarh forest department has issued orders to shoot a wild elephant responsible for the death of eight villagers in Jashpur district over a span of three months. Jashpur divisional forest officer O P Yadav told TOI,

The State government's plan to put up a thermal power plant in Chhattisgarh led to heated debate in the Legislative Assembly on Monday. The Opposition did not raise objection over the proposal but for making statements in the media when the session was on.

Raising a point of order, Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said, Chief Minister Yeddyurappa and Energy Minister K S Eshwarappa have made media statements that Karnataka would put up Rs 5,000-crore worth thermal plant in Chhattisgarh.

Government to set up 2,000 MW power plant in Chhattisgarh
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Power deficit in State estimated at 11 per cent

Work on ongoing projects to be expedited

BANGALORE: The Government has set a target to generate 5,000 MW of additional power in five years, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa has said.

He was speaking at the 39th Foundation Day programme of Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) here on Sunday.

We were standing in Sarova village, not far from Raipur, the capital of mineral-rich Chhattisgarh. All around us we could see some black stuff scattered on the ground. The villagers told us that the sponge iron factory owner was giving this away as a 'gift' and would even transport it to their lands. They refused to say if they were being paid to dump this reject on their land. But they did whisper to me that the land on which we were standing, laden with black reject belonged to the brother of the sarpanch. The sarpanch they said was earlier against the factory's pollution.