As per the DPR (Detailed Project Report), CAG said, performance audit of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Thermal Power Station, Marwa revealed 80% land as barren
Raipur, August 29: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on PSUs for the year ended March 31, 2018, tabled in the Legislative Assembly on Friday by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, revealed that the Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Company did not conduct a detailed survey nor did it verify revenue records before land acquisition for a thermal power station at Marwa in Korba district. The performance audit of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Thermal Power Station, Marwa revealed that as per the DPR (Detailed Project Report), 80% land was barren, the CAG said.
“However, the Company neither conducted a detailed survey nor verified the revenue records of land to assess the nature of land. The Company acquired a total 1,728.73 acre land out of which only 283.77 acre (16.41%) land was barren and remaining 1,444.96 acre (83.59%) was agricultural land”, it said, adding that as a result, 15 Rehabilitation and Resettlement issues, protest by ousted land owners and strikes took place, all of which hampered the project work.
The report further pointed out that the consultant approved design for in-motion weighbridge for 52 kg/m rail against the requirement of 60 kg/m rail. Due to mismatch in specifications, it could not be commissioned till May 2019. As a consequence, the report added, coal lost in transit against procured coal worth ₹1,681.52 crore could not be assessed during the period 2016-17 to 2018-19.
The CAG noted that Unit 1 and 2 were commissioned with a delay of 42 and 44 months, respectively, adding that it resulted in generation loss of 16,440.07 million units (MUs) amounting to ₹4,438.82 crore and avoidable procurement of power of ₹315.92 crore at higher rates by Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company. The CAG report also underlined poor operational performance of the 1000-MW power plant commissioned in 2016 and the non-compliance of environmental norms
