Business
Hundreds of crores spent in 23 years, yet NTPC Tandwa project’s future uncertain
Hundreds of crores have been spent in the last 23 years on setting up the National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC) power plant at Tandwa in Jharkhand’s Chatra district, but till date no electricity has been generated from it.
Preparations were underway to start power generation from the first unit of the plant this month itself, but it seems unlikely due to a violent clash between the locals, whose properties were acquired for setting up the plant, and the police on March 7.
The agitated locals set ablaze 56 small and big vehicles deployed at the plant and vandalised the offices. A total of 27 people were injured from both sides in the clashes between the police and the agitating displaced people.
After the violent confrontation, the situation in the project and the surrounding areas are tense. The administration has imposed prohibitory orders in six villages affected by the project.
So far, seven people have been arrested in connection with the violence. Also, an FIR has been registered against 100 named and 800 unidentified persons.
Police are conducting flag marches in the areas around the project ever since the incident. However, 60 per cent of the staff are not coming to the office.
In such a situation, it is almost certain that the proposed trial of the first unit of the plant in March would be postponed.
The project, ever since its foundation stone was laid in 1999, has remained in disputes. People, whose properties were acquired for setting up the plant, have been holding protests for the last two decades raising demands such as financial compensation, rehabilitation and jobs.
On March 6, 1999, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had laid its foundation stone and people were hoping that a new chapter of development would begin in the area, which is infamous for Naxalism and backwardness. The target was to make the plant operational by 2002-2003.
Three units of the power plant are being installed here, aiming to produce 1,980 MW of electricity. And it was scheduled that the trial of the first unit, having the capacity of 660 MW, would commence in March 2022.
Equipped with modern technology, for the first time in the country, the thermal power plant is being established using the air-cooled condenser system technology that would bring down the water consumption to just 25 per cent.
With the completion of the project, apart from Jharkhand, electricity would also be supplied to Bihar, Odisha, Bengal and Northeast.
For the project, the land was mainly acquired from six villages and at that time the old law of land acquisition was in force.
Meanwhile, the government made a new law regarding land acquisition, wherein there is a provision that if the project for which the land has been acquired does not get started within five years, then the land will be returned to the farmers.
When the work of the project started after seven years due to delay in land acquisition and several other reasons, disputes erupted over compensation, rehabilitation, jobs to the affected. The work of the project continued to be affected due to dharnas, demonstrations, agitations.
In the last 23 years, there have been more than one hundred confrontations between the NTPC Management, Administration, Police and displaced persons. Also there were numerous incidents of firing, lathi charge and violence.
There were several agreements between NTPC, the administration and the villagers, but the dispute was never fully resolved.
In the meantime, compensation has been paid to most of the ryot or displaced persons. However, the project continued at a slow pace amid the regular interruptions.
About a year and a half ago, the dispute regarding the compensation for the acquired land erupted again. The organisation of the displaced locals started the agitation, saying the compensation received earlier was inadequate.
They intalled tents in front of the main gate of the NTPC project and have been continuously staging a sit-in for the last 14 months.
A senior official at NTPC says that the ryots from whom the land was acquired were given compensation in 2015 itself. “There is no such law that compensation should be given again for the same land. It’s just not possible.”
The agitating farmers have three main demands.
The first is that they should be paid compensation at the rate of Rs 20 lakh per acre and the ryots who have not been paid the compensation should be paid at the new rate along with interest.
The second demand is “each displaced family should be given a uniform rehabilitation package as presently the amount is being given to the people of different areas at different rates”.
Similarly their third demand is “Compensation in lieu of missing raiyati land, Gairmajarua Khas land, and houses, trees, ponds and wells situated on that land; 75 per cent grant to displaced ryots in NTPC-run schemes, and employment for every displaced family in NTPC”.
New Delhi, Nov 13: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Maninder Sidhu, Canada’s Minister of International Trade, discussed ways to further boost bilateral trade and promote investments, it was announced on Thursday.
Sidhu is in India to find opportunities to advance trade and investment linkages between the two nations.
“It was a pleasure to co-chair the 7th India-Canada Ministerial Dialogue on Trade and Investment as part of the New Roadmap 2025 along with @MSidhuLiberal, Canada’s Minister of International Trade,” Goyal posted on the X social media platform.
The minister further stated that they discussed “avenues to strengthen bilateral trade, promote investments and deepen cooperation between our countries”.
During his India visit, Sidhu is set to promote Canada’s commitment to supporting and growing the well-established commercial ties shared by Canada and India, including artificial intelligence, clean technology and digital industries, and explore new opportunities for partnerships that benefit workers and businesses in both countries.
“This visit to India will reinforce Canada’s commitment to diversifying our trade relationships and attracting new investment,” an official statement quoting Sidhu said. “As one of the fastest-growing major economies, India offers significant opportunities for Canadian businesses and workers. Our commercial ties continue to expand — bilateral trade surpassed $30 billion in 2024 — and there is even greater potential ahead,” the statement added.
India is a key partner as Canada strengthens its economic links in the Indo-Pacific region under a comprehensive strategy for the region. In 2024, India was Canada’s seventh-largest goods and services trading partner, with two-way trade valued at $30.9 billion.
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar and his Canadian counterpart, Anita Anand, held discussions on strengthening cooperation across key sectors, including trade, energy and security. Both leaders met on the sidelines of the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Niagara.
EAM Jaishankar also praised the progress made under the New Roadmap 2025, aimed at enhancing bilateral ties between India and Canada and expressed hope for rebuilding a stronger partnership.
New Delhi, Nov 13: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Manoj Gaur, Managing Director of Jaypee Infratech Limited, in a money laundering case linked to the alleged siphoning of money paid by homebuyers for the construction of flats, according to sources on Thursday.
The Enforcement Directorate had in May carried out searches at 15 premises linked to Manoj Gaur’s flagship real estate development companies — Jaypee Infratech Ltd., and Jayprakash Associates Ltd, as well as their associated entities.
During the operation, officials seized hard cash to the tune of Rs 1.7 crore, along with financial records, digital data, and property documents registered in the names of promoters, their family members, and group companies.
The raids were carried out across Delhi, Mumbai, Noida, and Ghaziabad as part of an ongoing investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
IDBI Bank had first filed a petition against Jaypee Infratech Limited (JIL) in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Allahabad, after JIL defaulted on a payment of over Rs 526 crore. The NCLT initiated the insolvency process on August 9, 2017.
The insolvency case gained national attention due to over 21,000 homebuyers who had booked flats in JIL projects being left in the lurch as money had been diverted from construction projects, primarily in Wish Town, Noida.
The Supreme Court intervened to protect their interests, eventually leading to an amendment to the IBC that classified homebuyers as financial creditors, giving them a vote in the resolution process.
The case involved extensive legal proceedings, including disputes over transactions where JIL’s assets were mortgaged to secure the debts of its parent company, Jaiprakash Associates Limited (JAL).
After several rounds of bidding, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) approved a resolution plan submitted by the Suraksha Group in May 2024. Under this plan, Suraksha is to complete the unfinished projects and pay enhanced compensation to farmers as part of the land acquisition terms.
New Delhi, Nov 13: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the latest Union Cabinet decisions will ensure global competitiveness for the Indian exporters, while bolstering sustainability and self-reliance for domestic companies, especially MSMEs.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Modi, on Wednesday approved the Export Promotion Mission (EPM), with an outlay of Rs 25,060 crore, to strengthen India’s export ecosystem. The flagship initiative was announced in the Union Budget 2025-26 to strengthen India’s export competitiveness, particularly for MSMEs, first-time exporters, and labour-intensive sectors.
“Ensuring ‘Made in India’ resonates even louder in the world market! The Union Cabinet approved the Export Promotion Mission (EPM), which will improve export competitiveness, help MSMEs, first-time exporters and sectors that are labour-intensive. It brings together key stakeholders to build a mechanism that is outcome based and effective,” PM Modi said in a post on the X social media platform.
The Cabinet also approved the introduction of the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Exporters for providing 100 per cent credit guarantee coverage to member lending institutions for extending additional credit facilities up to Rs 20,000 crore to eligible exporters, including MSMEs.
“The Credit Guarantee Scheme for Exporters which has been approved by the Cabinet will boost global competitiveness, ensure smooth business operations and help realise our dream of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” said the Prime Minister.
In yet another important decision, the Union Cabinet approved the rationalisation of royalty rates for four critical minerals — graphite, caesium, rubidium, and zirconium. The royalty rates have been specified or revised as follows: caesium and rubidium will each attract a 2 per cent royalty based on the average sale price (ASP) of the respective metal contained in the ore produced.
PM Modi said that this Cabinet decision “will boost sustainability and self-reliance. It will strengthen supply chains and create job opportunities as well”.
An increase in indigenous production of these minerals would lead to a reduction in imports and supply chain vulnerabilities, and also generate employment opportunities in the country.
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