Kandhamal’s Long Wait for Power: Grid Project Stalled for Five Years

Kandhamal’s Long Wait for Power: Grid Project Stalled for Five Years. Image/Express

Phulbani, September 11, 2023: The people residing in the Baliguda sub-division of Kandhamal district in Odisha have been waiting for reliable power supply for five years as the construction of electrical grids faces significant delays. The project has been hindered due to the absence of permission from the Forest and Environment Department to construct 62 essential towers.

In 2016, the state government sanctioned Rs 102 crore for the construction of a 220/33 KV grid substation at Sirtiguda in the K Nuagaon block of Kandhamal district. The aim was to address the power supply challenges faced by residents in hilly areas. Although work on the project began in February of the same year, the target for completion was set for 2018.

The power grid project would have benefited over four lakh people in five blocks, including Kotgarh, Tumudabandh, Daringbadi, K Nuagaon, and Baliguda NAC area, if it had become operational. However, even after five years, it remains non-functional. Out of the planned 384 towers between Sirtiguda and Kesinga via M Rampur for electricity supply, only 322 have been constructed so far.

The construction of the remaining 62 towers has not commenced due to the Forest and Environment Department’s delay in granting permission. Reportedly, constructing these towers requires the removal of 50,000 to 60,000 trees in the M Rampur forest range and the creation of 35-meter corridors, which the forest authorities are reluctant to approve.

Chakrabani Kanhor, the local MLA of Baliguda, expressed concern that if the grids remain non-functional for an extended period, the installed equipment would deteriorate. He appealed to the Forest Department to permit the construction of the towers in the reserve forest area.

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