Energy deficit JK moves a step towards getting thermal power

Cabinet approves SPV for dev of coal block in Odisha

The Cabinet under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today approved the formation of Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for development of the coal block at Kudnali Laburi, (Talcher) in Odisha. The coal block has been allocated jointly to JKSPD & NTPC by the Union Ministry of Coal.
The SPV Board of Directors will comprise five Directors including Administrative Secretary PDD J&K who will be the Chairperson of the Board of Directors, an official statement said.
The approval also includes signing of Joint Venture Agreement by the J&K SPDC & NTPC besides setting up of End Use Power Plant in Odisha with NTPC.
“The allocation of the Coal Block is a major achievement for Jammu & Kashmir, which suffers from Energy deficit especially during winter season when the generation of power through various HEPs decreases significantly owing to low discharge in the rivers,” it said. 
The State Government with this major initiative will be able to establish a dedicated base load Thermal Power Station which would effectively wipe out the current energy deficit of nearly 28 per cent and improve the reliability of power supply round the year, it said.
The decision is in line with the broader policy of the State Government under the leadership of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to make the State Energy sufficient by harnessing huge hydro potential available to the State along with the Solar and Thermal Power, the statement said.
Within next five years the State Government expects that these efforts will prove to be fruitful for the people and will give major boost to the Economy of the State.
To mention, Ministry of Coal (MoC) in July 2013 on the recommendation of the Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) allocated 14 coal blocks for power plants to come up in various states. 
These blocks possess a geological reserve of 8,311 million tonnes (mt) and are capable of yielding about 159 mt coal production per annum.
MoC had in December 2012 floated tender for the 14 coal blocks located in Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Jharkhand. 
Pertinently, on Wednesday, PTI had reported that that NTPC and Jammu & Kashmir State Power Development Corp Ltd (JKSPDCL), which have been jointly allocated coal block in Odisha, may form a joint venture agreement to develop the mine by this month-end. 
The information was conveyed to the Coal Ministry in the meeting held recently under the Chairmanship of Additional Secretary Coal A K Dubey, it said. 
“In regard to Kundanali-Luburi coal block in Odisha, allocated jointly to NTPC and J&K State Power Development Corp Ltd… It was expected that JV (Joint Venture) would be formed by the end of June,” the PTI report had quoted a note of the meeting. 
“…NTPC mentioned that, based on the new Indian Companies Act, the draft proposal on the formation of a Joint Venture agreement had been revised and finalised. Representative of J&K informed that, JKSPDCL would be able to get the approval of the competent authority shortly,” it said. 
The Additional Secretary had called a meeting to discuss on the status of creation of JV and the steps being taken on the same. 
The coal block in the Talcher coalfield of Odisha — having an estimates reserves of 396.10 million tonnes (MT) — was jointly allocated to both the companies in July last year.