Badarpur power plant may be closed down from October 31
NEW DELHI: The Badarpur Power Plant which is identified as one of the most polluting power plants in the capital will be shut from the October 31, said the sources. The power plant has already missed two deadlines of closure by the Supreme Court-appointed body EPCA. The Delhi government sources said that the Tughlaqabad substation will be ready by that time.
"It is a great relief that the Badarpur Power Plant will be shut and by this Delhi will become thermal power plantless city which is very beneficial to fight the higher pollution level in the city," said Anumita Roy Choudhury of Center for Science and Environment. She added that the last winter Delhi witnessed lesser polluted days because the Badarpur Power Plant was closed.
"Under the GRAP among many other steps the Badarpur power plant was nono operating and we recommended that the power plant should have been complete closes from that time but as there was no other alternative, the power plant was functioning," said Roy Choudhury.
Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority had ordered the closure of Badarpur Thermal Power Plant, which was to be shut by July 31. However, the date was postponed twice – first to August and now October this year. "We have informed the plant officials, NTPC, Central government, Delhi government and the LG of Delhi that after the October if Badarpur does not close down then it will be violation of the mandate given by the SC-appointed body and we will be entitled to take necessary actions through the court if needed," said environmentalists associated with EPCA.
Meanwhile, the Delhi officials observed that Tughlaqabad 400/220kV substation will be ready by that time so that the Delhi does not suffer from the closure of the power plant. "The government will take care of the power production from the substation and we are also thinking of various other plans so that there is no scarcity of power in the next summer.
From October till the coming summer the government will be fully prepared to tackle the situation and we want to follow all the steps to curb the pollution," said an official. A recent study by the CSE showed that the Badarpur Power Plant is one of the major causes of the pollution in the Capital.
