Independent power producers cry foul
Himachal’s independent power producers (IPPs) have sought intervention of the state and Central governments to treat small hydropower projects as “white category projects”, exempting them from the time- consuming clearances from the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) and the state pollution board. There are more than 100 IPPs that have suffered huge losses as they spent large amounts but achieved zero results as the projects did not get forest clearances. “If small hydropower projects are treated as ‘white category projects’, this will help them get soft bank loans and help tap the state’s power potential,” they added. The IPPs resented that the state revenue share from hydropower has come down to 11.37 per cent in 2015-16 from 39.56 per cent in 2007-08 due to delays in execution of power projects in the state. Hailing the state government’s proposed changes in the hydropower policy, 2006, the Bonafide Himachal Power Producers Association has urged Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Union Power Minister Piyush Goel to treat the small hydropower projects (less than 25-MW capacity) as “white category power projects” and exempt these from forest clearances from MoEF and certificate from the state pollution control board. Apart from putting single window clearance in place, the procedure to monitor the 15 per cent water discharge in the river should be simplified as it is adding to the cost of the project, said Rajesh Sharma, president of the Association, and members Brij Mohan, Manish Sharma and Sansar Chand after their meeting with the officials of the Directorate of Energy and Himurja. They want the Centre to allow developers to raise forest on 40 per cent of waste or barren forest land under compensatory afforestation, not on the non-forest land, which is not available in the state. They have also urged the NITI Aayog to direct the MoEF to pay heed to the problems faced by the IPPs in the state. “The MoEF is asking us to acquire 17-m width forest or private land corridor for the laying of transmission line whereas it is objecting to plant forest on the barren forest land, which is self-contradictory,” Sharma said. They demanded that the state regulator should decide the power tariff on small hydropower projects on the pre-subsidised cost of the project. Paul Byron Authentic Jersey
Rampal coal plant: Indian coal dream fast becoming a nightmare for Bangladesh
Last month’s signing of the contract to build the Rampal coal plant in Bangladesh, just a few miles from the edge of the world’s largest mangrove forest, has re-triggered concerns both domestically and internationally about the controversial 1320 megawatt power project. Late July saw clashes in the streets of Dhaka between demonstrators intent on taking their demands to scrap the Rampal project direct to the office of Bangladesh’s prime minister and police deploying batons and tear gas canisters. Local media reported the arrest of six protestors and the hospitalisation of 16 other participants as a result of the police operation, which prevented the ‘Save Sundarbans’ demonstration from reaching its planned destination. Eyewitness accounts put the number of injured participants as high as 50. Indian groups who also reject the project (see a new video presenting joint Bangladeshi-Indian civil society resistance to Rampal) condemned what they described as the use of “brute force” by the police against a “peaceful protest march”, and issued a statement of solidarity which further called on the Bangladesh government to “stop using all undemocratic means to deal with legitimate people’s protests.” Just two weeks prior, however, the official ‘mood music’ emanating from a Dhaka hotel about the project might as well have come from another planet. At a ceremony to mark the signing of the engineering, procurement and construction contract awarded to Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), India’s largest engineering and manufacturing company, Ujjwal Kanti Bhattacharya, managing director of Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Limited (BIFPCL), the joint venture company undertaking the Rampal plant, commented to journalists that “We respect the concern of the people of Bangladesh, we are set to maintain the maximum environmental standards for the plant”. As tends to be the hallmark of such moments in the laboured development of controversial fossil fuel projects such as Rampal, the assembled officials had come to gush. With co-operation between Bangladesh and India being flagged relentlessly, the principal secretary to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina let it be known that Rampal has been ‘a dream project’ of the two countries’ leaders, and promised “all sorts of cooperation will be provided to [BHEL] except time extension.” BHEL now has until July 2019 to have the power plant installed and ready for operations. Scrutiny of the construction contract does indeed suggest that the Indian giant BHEL is on the receiving end of an awful lot of ‘co-operation’. Yet when viewed alongside other emerging project details that are now raining down as part of the official PR monsoon, it’s becoming ever more apparent that if Rampal is a ‘dream project’ for India, then as currently conceived it stands to become a nightmare for Bangladesh. ‘Sweeteners’ BHEL won the tender for the $1.49 billion construction contract at the beginning of this year but the official signing of the deal dragged on to July due to, as local media sources have pointed out, the company holding out for “extra sweeteners” from the Bangladesh government including exemptions from taxes and duties as well as from the mandatory insurance process. In what could be a worrying precedent for Bangladesh’s state coffers when the involvement of Indian companies is sought for major infrastructure projects, it’s also been reported that it took a personal intervention from Prime Minister Sheikk Hasina in April to settle the tax waiver in BHEL’s favour. Meanwhile, in another clear sign that Delhi is running the Rampal show and putting Indian interests first, negotiations are reportedly under way between the project promoters and Coal India on the supply of 4 million tonnes of Indian coal per year to fuel the plant. If this materialises, then it would undermine some of the baseline calculations – on emissions and pollution – included in the project’s already highly questionable environmental impact assessment (EIA), in which scenarios have been based on coal supplies originating from Australia, Indonesia or South Africa. Indian coal is generally reckoned to be of a lower grade than coal from the other countries referred to in the EIA, but the potential impacts remain vague since precise details on sulphur and ash content are unknown. The mounting coal glut in India may, however, have an even bigger long-term outlet near the Sundarbans – as the controversy over the currently proposed plant rages, an often overlooked detail in the EIA is the alarming proposal to build a second 1320 megawatt coal plant adjacent to the first “in the future”. Some state (of the art) Yet, insist Rampal proponents, the coal plant will involve the world’s most efficient and environment-friendly technology. ‘Modern ultra-Super Thermal Technology’ is touted by BIFPCL, but the company’s construction tender document does not require state of the art pollution control technologies. For example, the technology required at Rampal will emit nearly 30% more sulphur dioxide than truly state of the art technology. Similarly, the outdated technology required at the proposed coal plant can remove roughly 96% of fine particulate matter, but state of the art technology can remove 99%. Three percent might not seem like a lot, but when it comes to extremely toxic, long-lasting and widely dispersing heavy metals such as mercury emitted over the 60 year life of a coal plant, it matters. Shockingly too there are no technologies required at Rampal to specifically eliminate harmful emissions of mercury, nitrogen oxides, nickel, chromium, arsenic, antimony, cadmium or cobalt, though widely available technologies exist to do so. Finally, toxic unburned coal particles from the massive coal piles and transfer points will enter the Passur River and Sundarbans ecosystem on a daily basis, as the tender documents require only ineffective water sprays on coal piles, and optional enclosure of stockpiles and transfer points. And of the many question marks still hanging over the project’s EIA considerations – including air pollution, direct impacts on water resources including heavy coal transportation traffic through the network of sensitive Sundarbans waterways and cumulative ecosystem impacts – poor planning for the disposal of 0.94 million tons of toxic coal ash per year is just one
UP slow in electrification process: Power Minister
he Centre today rubbished Samajwadi Party’s charge of “discrimination” against Uttar Pradesh in electrification, saying the state had been provided Rs 18,000 crore for the purpose but the amount remained largely unutilised. After Samajwadi Party, which rules UP, forced four adjournments of the Rajya Sabha over the issue, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said the electrification process in the state is the “worst”. The situation is very bad in Uttar Pradesh due to poor and slow implementation of the various programmes by the state government, Goyal said replying to a discussion on electrification of villages in Uttar Pradesh. Only 22 per cent intensive electrification has been done in the state, he added. Dissatisfied with the reply, members of Samajwadi Party, which rules Uttar Pradesh, stormed the Well of the House, shouting slogans like “Give power”. They later staged a walkout. “States can buy as much power they require,” Goyal said. Countering the charge that Centre is not providing adequate funds to UP, he said: “They are seeking more funds… Rs 11,000 crore which has not been utilised by the state government and we have given Rs 7,000 crore more. The situation is bad in UP. Rs 18,000 crore funds have been already provided.” Electricity has reached only 20,419 villages in UP and only 30 per cent of poor households have been electrified, he said, adding villages in the state get power only for 13 and a half hours. As per the 2011 census, there are over 97,800 villages in the state, he said. Goyal also said that the UP government has not paid dues to the tune of Rs 3,872 crore to NTPC and Coal India among others. The minister said the village electrification programme has picked up pace in the country after NDA government came to the power. Naresh Agrawal (SP) expressed dissatisfaction over the minister’s reply and said it was wrong allegation against the UP government. He said the minister’s reply was politically motivated. Earlier, initiating the discussion, Agrawal alleged “discrimination” against Uttar Pradesh and said the Centre was sanctioning less funds to the state than demanded. He charged that the Central government is deliberately defaming the state government in an election year. “The Centre is punishing the people of those states where there is no BJP government,” Agrawal said. Mark Recchi Jersey
Centre not to give clearance to Aranmula airport: Kerala BJP
BJP in Kerala has said the Centre would not take a stand in favour of the proposed private International Airport at Aranmulla, which has run into trouble after environment groups and the locals opposed it. BJP state president Kummanom Rajasekharan, who was in the forefront of an agitation against the airport, said Union Environment and Forest Minister Anil Madhav Dave had informed him that the Expert Appraisal Committee recommendations to conduct a fresh environment study would be cancelled. The Centre did not want a project rejected by the Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal, Rajasekharan said in a statement, quoting Dave. The project, promoted by KGS Group, had run into trouble when it was mooted nearly seven years ago with environment groups and people in the area holding that it would cause environmental hazards. “The EAC has become committee to protect the interests of KGS group. Giving clearance for an environment study without hearing my complaint is quite a mystery,” he added. Rajasekharan also said the environment minister had assured him that no permission would be given and there was no change in Centre’s position that there was no need for an airport in Aranmula. Nick Easton Authentic Jersey
Airport row: BJP chief blames State govt.
Bharatiya Janata Party State president Kummanam Rajasekharan has said the KGS Aranmula Airport Company has been “misusing” the in-principle clearance given to it by the State government in 2011 for repeatedly seeking Central clearance for the airport project. Talking to The Hindu from Delhi over the phone, Mr. Rajasekharan said he met Union Minister for Environment, Forests, and Climate Change Anil Madhav Dave on Wednesday afternoon and apprised him of the people’s concern over the new development. Mr. Rajasekharan said the Union Minister, who himself is a staunch environmentalist, assured him that the government would not give any clearance for the controversial airport project at Aranmula.He said the ToR had been issued by a nine-member committee solely on the basis of the entries given by the applicant in the pro forma submitted for the same. He said KGS had been repeatedly submitting fresh application before the EAC, citing the State government’s clearance and the industrial area notification issued in favour of the proposed airport by the State government. Dale Weise Authentic Jersey
Air India turns to Narendra Modi govt for more help; Centre says meet targets
The government has assured Air India of financial and other assistance urging the carrier to meet the targets spelt out in the new turnaround plan. The state-owned airline must improve on time performance (OTP), passenger load factor (PLF), capacity growth and monetise assets. Air India chairman and managing director Aswani Lohani is understood to have asked the government to waive the guarantee fee charged to secure the airline’s loans and bonds. The airline also wants the government to provide for the shortfall in equity, support in the recovery of the dues for services provided to the VIPs and conversion of the long-term loans into equity. The carrier is also believed to have requested for a rationalisation of the cost structure at the airports. Top government officials in an oversight committee meeting with executives of the state-run airline Air India took stock of the financial recovery and operational improvement of the airline under the existing turn around plan (TAP). Jodie Meeks Jersey
Govt won’t interfere in fixing airfares
The government has ruled out interfering in fixing airfares fearing litigation by foreign airlines, but a Parliamentary panel wants it to take steps to ensure that the public is protected from predatory pricing. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture has rejected the contentions of the Ministry of Civil Aviation for not interfering in ensuring that airfares do not hit the skies. In the report tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, the panel, headed by Trinamool Congress MP K D Singh, said that it was not satisfied with the response of the Ministry on dealing with high airfare. To the recommendation to tackle “exorbitant” fare from Kerala airports to Gulf sector, the ministry had said that it does not normally interfere in the commercial aspects of airlines. “In case Indian carriers operating in Gulf sector are asked to provide much lower fare for Indian citizens, the issue may translate into discriminatory or predatory pricing practices and invite litigation by foreign carriers. Also, the issue of international operations by domestic airlines is covered under bilateral agreements,” the ministry said. Nick Easton Womens Jersey
Fares dip as 3 airlines shower discounts
Air fares have started to dip as domestic carriers have started a fare war to lure travellers in the lean season for the next three months. Air India, SpiceJet, and Indigo have come out with discounts on select domestic routes. The offer fares range from 960 to 2,500 for most of the popular routes like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, and Thiruvananthapuram. Though the offers are for limited seats, the discounts announced one after the other has led to lowering of air fare on most of the routes. From Chennai, flying to Bengaluru has become cheaper, if booked in advance, than travelling by train on higher class because the three airlines is offering discounted fares of 399, 970 and 1,199. The low-fare offers, some of them excluding taxes, have led to a general dip in fares. Fares for travel on days in mid-August to last week of the month hover in the range of 2,300-4,000 to Mumbai; 1,800-4,000 to Hyderabad; and 976-2,500 to Bengaluru. Fares to Coimbatore, Kochi, and Thiruvananthapuram start from 1,500 to 1,800. Trumaine Johnson Jersey
There will be anomaly with petroleum out of GST: Hasmukh Adhia
Petroleum being out of the goods and services tax (GST) initially will create some anomaly as tax credit on some of the inputs to oil industry may not be given, said Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia in an e-mailed interview. He tells Dilasha Seth that the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) is working out a plan to recast the organisational structure once GST is implemented. Excerpts: You have said both the Centre and states will have administrative power to assess and scrutinise businesses. However, states want the sole power over entities with up to Rs 150 million of annual turnover. Is there a solution to this tussle? The issue of cross empowerment for the purpose of removing dual control will have to come up for discussion in the meeting of the GST Council. We will continue to make efforts with the states to arrive at a consensus on this. There are fears that inflation will rise, at least in the short run, if the rates are not kept within 18 per cent. Is this fear justified? Whether or not GST will cause inflationary pressure is itself a moot question. If the exemption list and rate structure are properly designed, one can avoid having inflationary pressure, but we need to watch inflation number after GST is implemented. What are the key inputs the ministry has got over the draft model GST Bill? We have received 40,000 pages of representations from various organisations mainly from financial services, information technology and transportation sectors. We are examining this and we will try to make changes in the draft law if required. There are fears that the tax regime for the oil & gas industry will make compliance difficult. Products such as kerosene, naptha and liquid petroleum gas would be under GST’s ambit, while five items in the basket – crude oil, natural gas, aviation fuel, diesel and petrol – are excluded for the initial years. Do you plan to address this anomaly? Yes, there would be some anomaly created because of the fact that the petroleum sector is out of the GST’s purview. Some of the inputs to the petroleum sector industry might carry GST burden, which can stay as accumulated duty which is not VAT able. We will look at this issue in due course. Can the Congress’ demand of capping GST rate at 18 per cent in the GST Act be met? The rate and rate structure can only be based on facts and figures on the existing revenue of State and Centre, which are to be discussed in the GST Council. At the moment, it is not possible to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to any such artificial number. The decision on rates will also depend on the list of exempt items, list of demerit commodities, etc. Will there be rationalisation of workforce under CBEC to implement GST? CBEC at present looks after Customs, Excise and Service Tax. In metropolitan cities, Excise and Service Tax Commissionerates are separate, but in other places the work of Excise as well as Service Tax is done by the same Commissionerate. The CBEC is working out a plan in which the organisational structure can be recast once GST is implemented. Bryan Little Authentic Jersey
Government may supply pooled gas to phosphatic and potassic fertiliser manufacturers
Providing a breather to Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corp. Ltd, and state-run firms—Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Ltd (RCF) and Gujarat State Fertilizer and Chemicals Ltd (GSFC)—the government may allow supply of pooled gas to these companies to manufacture phosphatic (P) and potassic (K) fertilisers. This comes in the backdrop of the National Democratic Alliance government focussing its energy on reviving the rural economy making irrigation and urea availability an important part of its game plan. The government last year approved gas supply at uniform price to all fertiliser units for urea production through a pooling mechanism. However, the guidelines related to supply of gas to fertiliser units producing phosphatic and potassic nutrients are yet to be finalised. “Recently, the inter-ministerial committee, headed by the fertilisers secretary, decided that P&K manufacturers may be supplied pooled gas meant for urea production to manufacture P&K fertilisers as well. The matter has been referred to the minister for chemicals and fertilizers, after which it will need the Cabinet’s approval,” said a senior fertiliser ministry official on condition of anonymity. Phosphatic fertilisers contain phosphorus in any organic or inorganic form, and include the commonly used di-ammonium phosphate. Potassic fertilisers are the ones which contain potassium in absorbed form. The commonly used potassic fertilisers include muriate of potash and sulphate of potash. “The government had earlier decided to charge the highest existing re-gassified liquefied natural gas price from P&K manufacturers. However, the inter-ministerial committee has come to a conclusion that it will not be viable for the companies,” said another government official from the ministry who also did not want to be named. InfraCircle had earlier reported that the Union government plans to recover Rs. 15 billion as dues from Deepak Fertilisers, RCF and GSFC for using subsidised fuel to manufacture fertiliser. In 2010, India implemented nutrient-based subsidy policy for phosphatic and potassic fertiliser producers. This resulted in market pricing of these fertilisers as opposed to urea, the most commonly used fertiliser in India, which is controlled and currently sold at a fixed price. Given the market pricing for phosphatic and potassic fertilisers, the government in 2014 decided to divert the subsidised APM gas to urea plants. The so-called APM mechanism does not exist anymore and refers to the price of gas produced by state-owned upstream explorers such as Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd and Oil India Ltd from the blocks awarded to them on a nomination basis. While APM gas supplies to Deepak Fertilisers were stopped as it was manufacturing complex fertilisers, the gas supply continued for RCF and GSFC as any cut in supplies would have affected urea production. These firms have stated to the government that their plants are configured in a manner that any stoppage of gas supplies would affect both urea, and phosphatic and potassic production. Experts though think this is the right step, a mechanism is required to give pooled gas to P&K manufacturers. “The country imports significant amount of P&K fertilisers. So supply of gas to domestic entities will ensure domestic availability,” said Neeru Abrol, former chairman and managing director of National Fertilizers Ltd. Queries emailed to the spokespersons for the ministries of chemicals and fertilizers, and petroleum and natural gas, Deepak Fertilisers, RCF, GSFC and GAIL (India) Ltd on 10 August remained unanswered. The government has made a provision of Rs. 700 billion on account of fertiliser subsidies in the Union budget of 2016-17. Evgeny Kuznetsov Womens Jersey