Coal

The extremely liberal regime ushered in by the Electricity Act 2003 allowed a few existingprivate captive thermal generators to make handsome profits, particularly in certain regions with perceived advantages in terms of availability of coal and water. But the majority of proposed projects were abandoned without cost to the communities of the area they were to be located in. Of the rest, only a few are operational with partial capacity, while others are under construction with delayed schedules or have gone into limbo. A critical analysis of the development of private thermal power projects over a decade.

The Tenth Plan Approach Paper has many interesting and progressive elements, but also many prescriptions that are likely to cause further destruction of the environment, food security, and people's natural resource-based livelihoods. There is no clear and coherent thrust towards integrating these concerns throughout the paper, within all sectors. Even at this late stage, it would be fruitful for the Planning Commission to set up a group of independent persons to consider ways of achieving such integration.