CM bags 6K Cr PSU for state

A day after Congress MPs cried that the state was meted out a raw deal in allocation of berths in the Union cabinet, it has come to light that the UPA government has already showered a priceless gift on Andhra Pradesh by granting a 1,000-acre NTPC-BHEL joint venture public sector undertaking with huge employment potential in Chittoor district last week.

The deal was clinched by chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy at an emergency meeting with various officials concerned held in New Delhi on May 24, when both the Centre and the state were immersed in ministry formation. The NTPC-BHEL Power Projects Private Ltd (NBPPPL) will be the first PSU in the state in the last 27 years after the Vizag Steel Plant, which was commissioned in 1982.

It will also be the first PSU in the Rayalaseema region to which the chief minister belongs.

Set to come up in Mannavaram village in Chittoor district, the foundation stone for the plant will be laid next month, Busi Sam Bob, principal secretary, industries, told TOI. “The plant will manufacture power equipment for coal-based thermal power stations up to 1000 MW including super critical, hydro-based power stations and gas-based units, besides matching generators, boilers etc,” Sam Bob said. In fact, the unit will make all equipment related to power projects in India and abroad and the first batch will be ready for shipment by 2014, he added.

Officials present at the New Delhi meeting on May 24 included Union power secretary H S Brahma and Union industry secretary Satyanarayana Dash, besides the top brass of NTPC and BHEL. According to sources, while in the midst of finalising the state cabinet with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, YSR managed to convene the emergency meeting on Sunday afternoon.

The manufacturing unit would require 700 acres of land for the plant and another 250 acres for the township. The NBPPPL was set up by NTPC and BHEL with 50:50 per cent equity last year with a proposed initial investment of Rs 6,000 crore for the Chittoor plant. According to Sam Bob, the unit will provide direct employment to 6,000 people along with an indirect employment to about 25,000 to 30,000 people.

With at least seven states including Tamil Nadu vying for the PSU, clinching the deal can be considered a feather in the cap of the chief minister, especially when it came just at a time when both the governments at the Centre and the state were taking over.

Posted by Sreekanth at 11:32 AM

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