Pench Thermal Power Project, also known as Chhindwara power station, was a proposed 1,320 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station in Madhya Pradesh, India.
The plant was halted by public opposition. Plant sponsor Adani Pench is now pursuing another project in the state, the MP Adani power station.
The project is proposed by by Adani Pench Power Limited, a subsidiary of Adani Power. On its website Adani states that "the project is in advanced stage of development and the project is planned to be commissioned in the second year of the XIIth Five Year Plan."[2]
Construction activity of the project commenced in March 2010, over two years prior to the granting of environmental clearance.[3]
In December 2011, Adani Power said that it was putting 6,500 MW of capacity expansion projects on hold due to coal supply uncertainties. The plants on hold included Pench Thermal Power Project in Madhya Pradesh, Bhadreshwar Thermal Power Project (Adani) in Gujarat, and Dahej Thermal Power Project in Gujarat.[4]
The power station received environmental clearance in October 2012.[5]
Opposition, delays and defamation case
The project's permitting was legally challenged in 2013 by villagers that would be affected by the project.[6]
Proceedings before the National Green Tribunal were stayed by the Supreme Court on 6 January 2014.[7]
In April 2014 it was reported that a barricade had been built on a public road between the residents of five villages including Chaunsara, and the Adani Pench Power Ltd (APPL), which was building a 1,320 MW power plant in the area.[8]
In November 2015 it was reported that five people were attacked while protesting the plant.[3]
In 2019, Adani applied for an extension to its environmental clearance. Adani’s justified applying for the extension by arguing that previous policies of the central government on coal procurement (‘fuel linkage’) had impeded development of the project but that, with those policies no longer in force, the project could be revived.[9]
In March 2020, the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission invited bids for setting up a 1,320 MW coal-based power plant in Madhya Pradesh. The bid was won by Adani Group on May 26, 2020.[10] The location may be Pench.[11] As of November 2020 it is unclear if the proposal is a revival of the Pench plant.
In October 2022, a freelance journalist was the subject of a defamation case mounted by the Adani Group, ostensibly over a series of tweets he made about community opposition to the Pench Thermal Power Project. According to AdaniWatch, the tweets expressed opinions on matters in the public domain. The Delhi Union of Journalists condemned the move.[12]
Impacts
According to the Environmental Justice Atlas, "The Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board (MPEB) is in the process of transferring about 300 hectares of land it had acquired from farmers in 1986 to Adani. The water will be drawn from the Pench Diversion Project to be constructed at a cost of Rs 583.40 crore for irrigation purposes and reservation of water for the 500 mw generation plant which was to be developed by MPEB." As such there is resistance to this project for two reasons. "Firstly for the dam on Pench River. The proposed dam will affect about 31 villages and fully submerge about six villages (Over 5,607 hectare area will come under submergence. Secondly, issues related to land acquisition of APPL. For the new and proposed power plant local farmers are not ready to give their land. Another matter of concern is that, the plant will draw water from Pench river raising wildlife concerns owing to pollution in the long run [2]. Medha Patkar is also supporting Kisan Sangharsh Samiti (KSS), which is leading organization of the movement against the project."[13]
Project Details
Sponsor: Adani Pench Power Limited, a subsidiary of Adani Power Location: Dhanora and Chausara villages, Chaurai and Chhindwara Tehsils, Chhindwara district, Madhya Pradesh, India[1] Coordinates: 22.147958, 79.1344549 (exact)[1] Status: Cancelled Capacity: 1,320 MW Type:Supercritical Projected in service: Coal: "Indigenous coal will be made available from nearly coal mines and the same will be transported to the project site by railway wagons.[1] Estimated annual CO2: Source of financing: Permits and applications:Environmental clearance, India MoEF, Oct 16, 2012
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Assam\n","link":"","lat":26.140000000000001,"lon":91.769999999999996,"icon":""},{"text":"\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProposed coal plants in Bihar\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/b\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003EClick \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"/Category:Proposed_coal_plants_in_Bihar\" title=\"Category:Proposed coal plants in Bihar\"\u003Ehere\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/b\u003E for more information.\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E","title":"Proposed coal plants in Bihar\n","link":"","lat":25.370000000000001,"lon":85.129999999999995,"icon":""},{"text":"\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProposed coal plants in Chhattisgarh\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/b\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003EClick \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"/Category:Proposed_coal_plants_in_Chhattisgarh\" title=\"Category:Proposed coal plants in 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href=\"/Category:Proposed_coal_plants_in_Haryana\" title=\"Category:Proposed coal plants in Haryana\"\u003Ehere\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/b\u003E for more information.\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E","title":"Proposed coal plants in Haryana\n","link":"","lat":30.73,"lon":76.780000000000001,"icon":""},{"text":"\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProposed coal plants in Jharkhand\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/b\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003EClick \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"/Category:Proposed_coal_plants_in_Jharkhand\" title=\"Category:Proposed coal plants in Jharkhand\"\u003Ehere\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/b\u003E for more information.\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E","title":"Proposed coal plants in Jharkhand\n","link":"","lat":23.350000000000001,"lon":85.329999999999998,"icon":""},{"text":"\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProposed coal plants in 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href=\"/Category:Proposed_coal_plants_in_Rajasthan\" title=\"Category:Proposed coal plants in Rajasthan\"\u003Ehere\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/b\u003E for more information.\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E","title":"Proposed coal plants in Rajasthan\n","link":"","lat":26.57,"lon":73.840000000000003,"icon":""},{"text":"\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProposed coal plants in Tamil Nadu\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/b\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003EClick \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"/Category:Proposed_coal_plants_in_Tamil_Nadu\" title=\"Category:Proposed coal plants in Tamil Nadu\"\u003Ehere\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/b\u003E for more information.\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E","title":"Proposed coal plants in Tamil Nadu\n","link":"","lat":13.09,"lon":80.269999999999996,"icon":""},{"text":"\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProposed coal plants in Uttar Pradesh\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/b\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003EClick \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"/Category:Proposed_coal_plants_in_Uttar_Pradesh\" title=\"Category:Proposed coal plants in Uttar Pradesh\"\u003Ehere\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/b\u003E for more information.\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E","title":"Proposed coal plants in Uttar Pradesh\n","link":"","lat":26.850000000000001,"lon":80.909999999999997,"icon":""},{"text":"\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProposed coal plants in West Bengal\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/b\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003EClick \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"/Category:Proposed_coal_plants_in_West_Bengal\" title=\"Category:Proposed coal plants in West Bengal\"\u003Ehere\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/b\u003E for more information.\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E","title":"Proposed coal plants in West Bengal\n","link":"","lat":22.57,"lon":88.269999999999996,"icon":""}]}
