Telangana Govt Plans Thermal Plant at Naini in Odisha
Principal secretary (energy) Navin Mittal, Singareni chairman Krishna Bhaskar, Singareni officials and others were present at the meeting.
Hyderabad: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Friday said that the Telangana government would consider setting up a thermal power plant at the pit-head of the Naini coal block operated by Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) in Odisha. He said the Telangana government will soon send a team of officials to study the feasibility of setting up a thermal power plant at Naini coal block.
On Thursday, Bhatti held a meeting with Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi at a hotel in Begumpet. Following the meeting, he said a team of officials from the energy department will visit the Naini area, after which the Telangana government will take an appropriate decision.
Principal secretary (energy) Navin Mittal, Singareni chairman Krishna Bhaskar, Singareni officials and others were present at the meeting.
Bhatti inaugurated Naini block in April this year marking a new phase for SCCL, where its operations are extended beyond the state’s borders. Considered as a turning point in the company’s 136-year history, the Naini block is SCCL’s first operational coal mine outside Telangana.
Although this block had been allocated to Singareni nine years ago, the operations were delayed due to pending clearances. After the formation of the Congress government in Telangana in December 2023, Revanth Reddy and Bhatti Vikramarka had approached the Union ministers to expedite the approvals.
Bhatti said that SCCL’s entry into Odisha was a step towards eventual global expansion. He added that the company is committed to the development of the Angul region, where the mine is located. As part of the company’s future plans, a 1,600 MW thermal power plant has been proposed near the Naini site.
The Naini block has an estimated peak production capacity of 10 million tonnes per annum. The coal reserves are expected to last for around 35 years. Of the 2,225 acres involved in the project, 1,935 acres are forest land.
