MLAs object to spate of power plants in Nellore

HYDERABAD: Members of various political parties demanded in the Assembly on Thursday that a white paper be published on the thermal power projects coming up in Nellore district. The projects will pose a threat to the lives of the locals and also the environment in the district, they said.The government should not encourage private companies which do not cater to the needs of the state but at the same time cause pollution here by setting up their thermal power plants, they said.Raising the issue during the question hour, MLAs M Sridhara Krishna Reddy and B Durga Prasad Rao alleged that proposals have been submitted to set up power plants with more than 24,000 MW capacity across Nellore district.Permission has already been granted for a total capacity of 14,460 MW.Except APGENCO and Reliance plants, others are purely private business ventures, they said."The government has allotted more than 4,510 acres to five power plants through APIIC.Why is this done when they are not ready to supply power to meet our needs?" questioned TDP MLA D Narendra Kumar.Lok Satta president N Jayaprakash Narayan said said government should release a white paper on these power plants.He suggested that the government form an expert committee to analyse the environmental impact of the projects before sanctioning them and also limit the projects to the extent necessary.