Orissa pollution board forces shut-down of NTPC power plant

Authorities in Orissa have ordered the shut-down of one of the plants at the Talcher Super Thermal Power Station near Kaniha for continuing to flout pollution norms despite an earlier show-cause notice.

Following the order from the Orissa State Pollution Control Board, the local authorities of the union government's National Thermal Power Corp – which runs the plant – today shut down one of the four 500 MW units of the 3,000-MW power plant.

The board had on 28 June ordered the closure of all the four units as NTPC failed to improve its ash management system. After district collector S Mishra took up the matter, NTPC told the board on 30 June that it was shutting down of one of its units.

According to the state's pollution board, the electrostatic precipitator (ESP) at the plant was malfunctioning, resulting in high emission of fly ash. The 12 ESPs being used at Kaniha have become old and are unable to control the emissions, according to the regional officer of the state pollution control board, Anupam Behera.

''In a recent study by SPCB, we collected samples from NTPC's stage-I and stage-II chimneys and found the SPM (suspended particulate matter) higher than the standard. So we have asked the NTPC authorities to control the emission by using new ESPs,'' Behera said.

Earlier, the Board had issued notices concerning non-compliance on discharge of waste water, flue gas emissions, ambient air quality, and disposal of ash by the NTPC management under Water (PCP) Act, 1974 and Air (PCP Act, 1981), he said.