MARGAO
Asserting that solar power generation can safely meet the power requirements of Goa, Goyant Kollso Naka on Friday challenged Power Minister Nilesh Cabral to either meet the centre’s solar energy target of 358 MW for Goa by 2022 or quit office.
The NGO has also pooh-poohed Cabral’s claim of releasing the White Paper, saying that no such paper has been placed in public domain. It has accused the Power Minister of making unsubstantiated statements.
Addressing the media, Goyant Kollso Naka co-convenor Abhijit Prabhudesai reminded the Power Minister of the Centre’s target to Goa to generate 358 MW solar power by 2022. “Instead of pushing for the transmission line project, Cabral should tell Goans how he will achieve the target on the solar power front. If he cannot achieve this, he should quit office,” Abhijit said.
Prabhudesai claimed that solar power generation project has the potential to generate around 20,000 jobs for the unemployed youth.
He said the Union Ministry has estimated the potential of solar power in Goa state to be a whopping 880 MW, meaning that Goa must become a net exporter of power.
If the state can do this, it will do its bit to mitigate the effects of global warming, he added.
“Government documents reveal that Goa must achieve its target of producing 358 MW of solar power by 2022 if India has to fulfill its promise of reducing global warming. This means our demand for coal-based power from outside the state, 80 per cent of which is received from transmission lines, should have started shrinking by now,” he said.
GKN Convenor Antonio D’Silva said the proposed transmission line is not just unnecessary, but completely against public interest.
Antonio said the minister’s statement that double-tracking was not for coal is baseless and not backed by any documents.
Saying that the Power Minister had in the past agreed that 53 MTPA of coal is to be transported from MPT, Antonio said it is most shocking that after this admission, he is now taking a U-turn without producing any new facts.
“As stated by the Rajya Sabha on 15/9/2020, the installed capacity for entire Goa as on 31.08.2020 is only 585 MW, including 532 MW from central sector. However, the minister has quoted highly inflated figures, such as 1,800 MW demand from residential use to mislead the people. Further, the Centre has used sophisticated, realistic models to predict a rise in peak demand by 2037 to 704 MW only. Even the most optimistic model predicts the highest possible demand to be only 1,375 MW by 2037. But, contrary to these facts, the minister has tried to fool the people by saying the transmission lines are necessary due to increasing demand,” Antonio said.
Emilio Carvalho demanded to know how the Goa government had felled 2600 trees when the Karnataka government has not given clearance for the transmission line.
Freddy Travasso claimed that the railways are carrying out the double-tracking work sans obtaining permissions from the local bodies and appeal to them to stop the illegal work in their respective jurisdictions.
