Coming forward to make efforts to address the smouldering problem of stubble burning, an NSI Sikh from US Chiranjeev
Kathuria has proposed to invest Rs 25 crore to set up 1,000 MW biomass energy generating plants in his home state, Punjab.
Kathuria said that his company New Generation Power International has plans to invest in 4,000 MW in power projects in Punjab. Out of these projects, 3,000 MW would be generated by the solar power and the remaining by using the biomass made from the stubble of both paddy and wheat crops.
Kathuria said that the crop residue would be purchased from the farmers and this would help counter environment pollution, a serious problem in the northern India. The plan is to set up 200 plants, each having five MW capacity, which will use the stubble as raw material which will help in solving the stubble burning issue.
Each plant will be located strategically near a major sub-station and will cater to 10-15 villages, he said.
The project will cost about Rs 25,000 crores and will be set up by Kathuria on Built Operate and Transfer (BOT) format. The period he will run power plant will be 15 years.
Punjab Revenue Minister Gurpreet Kangar said that the power produced by the plants set up would be fed directly into the main grid. The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited will get the benefit of this additional power.
This initiative will cost about Rs 25,000 crore and will be set up by Kathuria on build-operate-and-transfer (BOT) format, the Minister said adding that the State Government’s power subsidy will be ultimately reduced to just Rs 500 crore in the long run.
“When we explained our problems to Kathuria, he went two steps ahead and offered us few permanent solutions,” Kangar said.
The power project will help in meeting two big objectives. While on one hand it will improve the condition of the state exchequer, on the other hand, it would also be able to permanently eliminate the problem of smog, which has been affecting the air quality of Punjab as well as the surrounding states and also the National Capital Region (NCR), he added.
