Odisha CM voices concern over tardy progress in proposed power project, seeks PM Modi's help

Bhubaneswar: Voicing concern over tardy progress in the proposed Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) at Bedabahal in Sundargarh, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s help for early initiation of the bidding process and quick implementation. [caption id=“attachment_2699510” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik[/caption] The UMPP, proposed to generate 4000 MW of power, was supposed to be taken up on a fast track mode for which Odisha as the host state has already contributed nearly Rs 350 crore as sought by the project proponents, the Chief Minister said in a letter to the Prime Minister. “However, the progress for development of UMPP is rather slow even when all the requisite support is being provided by the state government,” Patnaik said in his letter which was released to the media. Stating that the Centre has initiated the process of setting up the UMPP at Bedabahal in Sundargarh, he said the project is structured to be developed through two SPVs namely - Odisha Integrated Power Ltd (OIPL) and Odisha Infra Power Ltd (OINPL), which are subsidiaries of Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFCL), New Delhi. “I am informed that the preparation and finalisation of Standard Bidding Document (SBD) is taking a lot of time. Further, as the host state we have already submitted our views and concerns relating to the Standard Bidding Document which, I hope, have been duly addressed,” Patnaik said. Noting that recently the state government and the Centre have launched the joint initiative of providing 24X7 power for all, the Chief Minister said in order to achieve this objective, generation of power would also need to to be increased commensurately. Patnaik said Odisha, as the host state is “looking up” to the generation of power from the UMPP. “I would, therefore, request you to kindly issue suitable instructions to the concerned authorities for early initiation of the bidding process and implementation of the power project,” the Chief Minister said. PTI