Maha govt considering handing over Dabhol project to Centre

MUMBAI: Maharashtra government is considering handing over the Dabhol power project in coastal Konkan to the Centre, owing to drop in power generation and high tariff.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar informed this to the state Legislative Council, in a written reply to a query by Ramdas Kadam ( Shiv Sena) and others.

Kadam wanted to know if it was true that the state government was mulling handing over of the project due to fall in power generation to 600 MW, as against the capacity of 2,200 MW due to non-availability of gas and also due to the "unaffordable" power tariff of the project.

Pawar replied in the affirmative, saying it was no longer "financially viable" to operate the project and so the Mahavitaran had submitted a proposal in January, for handing over the project to the Centre and in lieu of that, getting power at NTPC rates from the Central pool.

This proposal by Mahavitaran is being scrutinised, the minister said.

The Centre is also being informed through the Chief Minister, to make additional Administered Price Mechanism (APM)/non-APM gas in western region for the Dabhol project, he said.