Yelahanka residents turn to NGT against Power plant

BENGALURU: A GAS CHAMBER? Citizen group says an apartment complex is barely 20 metres from the site of the proposed power unit
More trouble is brewing for the Kar nataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) as a citizen group from Yelahanka is taking legal recourse to question the construction of a gas power plant in a densely-populated residential area.

The 370MW gas-based combined cycle power plant, being constructed at a cost of Rs 1,561 crore, is expected to be commissioned by May 2018.

Just last week, activists aired concerns that the Jakkur lake could be threatened as treated water from the lake will be drawn for the power plant.

Now, owners of the 683-unit Heritage Estate apartment are ready with evidence for a legal battle before the National Green Tribunal. “The distance between the plant and our (Heritage Estate) society is hardly 20 metres. The Puttenahalli lake, which is a bird reserve, is less than one km and many other apartments, lakes, schools are within a 2-km distance.We'll be living in a gas chamber,“ said Simmi Kumar, vice president of the Heritage Estate Apartment Owners Association (HEAOA).

The petition before the NGT will be a follow-up to the one on change.org which residents floated in 2016. In the petition, they sought reassessment of all the clearances the power plant has received.

The gas-based power plant is coming up on a 120-acre site on Doddaballapura Road at the spot where a KPCL diesel plant was closed down a few years ago due to heavy pollution. Yelahanka is still classified as an industrial zone despite the growth in residential activities and that is why the power plant is coming u p, according to resident Balasundaram Athreya.

“At one point, Yelahanka was in deed an industrial zone with the Rail Wheel Factory and other establishments. But zoning has not been amended in tune with present conditions. Now, I'll have a high-temperature gas chamber right next to my residential tower,“ Athreya said. Residents argue that the gas, which will be supplied by the Gas Authority of India, could be highly inflammable and the plant could generate high noise and its heavy lighting could affect the night sky. In fact, the environmental impact assessment report that KPCL submitted to the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) states that the plant will generate noise levels not exceeding 85-90 db. This, Athreya pointed out, is very high for a residential area. “The KPCL has deliberately under-amplified the sensitivity and residential density of the area while getting an environmental clearance.“

In fact, environmental clearance for the power plant was granted in September 2015 and SEIAA membersecretary Ramachandra justified it: “Why did they (residents) build an apartment there knowing that it was in a KIADB-notified area? We have done whatever possible to ensure little pollution. Residents are free to appeal before the NGT.“