Nitish to pressure Centre for NTPC power to Kahalgaon

Ahead of leaving for Delhi, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar promised on Monday to put pressure on the Centre to get NTPC to supply electricity...

Ahead of leaving for Delhi, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar promised on Monday to put pressure on the Centre to get NTPC to supply electricity to residents of Kahalgaon, noting that they had given their land for its power plant in the area.

Last week, as the residents were holding protests demanding power, the police had opened fire, leading to three deaths. Nitish admitted that the police and other district officials were wrong in permitting the firing, and said he had instituted a judicial probe into it.

Talking to reporters at his weekly ‘Janata Ka Darbar’, the Chief Minister said that every corporate house should fulfill some social responsibility, and urged the Centre to enact a law to ensure this.

Story continues below this ad

“Residents of Kahalgaon had given their land for the NTPC generation unit. Today they are even encountering pollution. Why should they not get electricity? It is their right,” he said.

Nitish added that as the locals were demanding electricity from NTPC authorities, officials should have communicated the same to Patna. “The state government would have taken up the matter with the Centre.”

Meanwhile, the state government is supplying round-the-clock power to the trouble-torn town in a bid to check any further agitations.

During his visit last year, Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde had assured locals that NTPC’s Kahalgaon unit would supply electricity to them and also undertake development projects for them. They launched a protest after the assurance was not fulfilled.

Story continues below this ad

Apart from taking up the matter with the Centre, the Nitish Government also approached NTPC authorities on Monday, with Energy Minister Bijeyndra Prasad Yadav holding a meeting with its executives at Patna. NTPC’s Chairman and Managing Director is scheduled to visit Bihar to take stock of the situation.

The Union Energy Secretary was also contacted and told that the NTPC should undertake development projects for Kahalgaon to strike goodwill.

Nitish reiterated that the Centre continued to disregard Bihar’s demand for more power and accused political rivals from the state in the UPA Government of launching a disinformation campaign. “We will now launch an information campaign and declare the quantum of power supplied by the Centre on a daily basis. Then everything will be clear before the people,” Nitish said.

At Kahalgaon, the situation limped back to normalcy today as shops in the market opened after three days.