Golaghat, May 25: The Assam State Power Workers Union today demanded that the proposed 70MW Lakwa Replacement Power Plant, financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under the Second Assam Power Sector Investment Program-Tranche 1, should be completed within the given deadline.
In a press release, Ajay Rajkonwar and Jiten Baruah, president and secretary of the union respectively, expressed great concern over reports about misappropriation of the entire amount sanctioned for the project allegedly by some officers of the Assam Power Generation Company Ltd.
"There are also reports that the APGCL allotted the project to a company called Wartsila Diesel of Finland, which is blacklisted in China. The union has conducted an inquiry on its own and found that Wartsila Diesel has never been blacklisted in China and it has recently entered into a long-term business agreement with China," the release said.
The union said even after having enough raw materials, it is only because of lack of political will that Assam is still lagging in attaining self-sufficiency in power generation.
APGCL has suffered heavy losses because of the non-completion of the 37.2MW Lakwa waste heat plant and the 100MW Namrup Replacement Power Plant. The cost of production has increased, which is ultimately being borne by the people in the form of hike in power tariff, the union said.
It urged both the corporation and the government to take stringent measures to crush the vested interest group, which is creating hindrance in completing the project within the stipulated time.
The existing 60MW gas plant at Lakwa Thermal Power Station is over 30 years old and needs replacement on account of low efficiency and non-compliance to emission norms. The proposed project will increase adequacy and efficiency of power system, including clean energy development in Assam.
The output includes increased power generation capacity and efficiency; improved transmission and distribution network efficiency in selected urban areas of Assam and institutional capacity development and project implementation support.
