Power to Agra sans pollution to Taj!

A Canadian power development co is promising to address both the issues of power and pollution in the city of the Taj Mahal.

In energy-deficient India, where issues of power and pollution are two sides of the same coin, a Canadian power development company is promising to address both challenges in the city of the Taj Mahal.

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Toronto-based Canasia Power Corp founded by Indo-Canadian Ashok Dhillon, has been working for just such a project over a decade - bringing the $1 billion Jawaharpur thermal power project with 800 MW capacity to fruition.

Dhillon says the company could meet the power needs while at the same time dramatically reducing pollution that is currently threatening the Taj Mahal, India's premier tourist destination.

Canasia has succeeded in getting project clearance through the tough regulatory environment in India and is now waiting to cross the last hurdle - securing a coal block it has applied for from India's ministry of coal.

"Jawaharpur will certainly trigger other industries to move in and create a major ripple effect through the economy of Uttar Pradesh," Dhillon said.

Fuel has been a stumbling block for all major thermal power projects in India until late last year when the ministry of coal lifted restrictions to allow cement plants, steel mills and power projects to apply directly for a coal block.

"The plant will be located within easy wheeling distance to provide Agra City with steady power supply and help shut down over 86,000 small to mid-sized diesel generators operating there," noted Dhillon. "This will have a significant impact in improving air quality, benefiting not only millions of citizens of Agra but also one of the world's seven wonders, the Taj Mahal."

Even as energy-strapped India is in the midst of realising a landmark civilian nuclear cooperation deal signed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President George W. Bush in Washington last July, New Delhi stands to gain by clearing foreign power projects in the pipeline to prove it is an attractive FDI destination for infrastructure projects.

It also makes sense to clear the deck before the impending March visit of President Bush, as American companies are lobbying to get the US Congress to legislate India into receiving civilian nuclear technology.

Like Canasia, some American companies are leaders in reduced coal emission power plants, and coal being one of India's primary power supply sources, clearing projects like this takes on added importance, observers contended.

This would prove that the Enron debacle with the Maharashtra-based Dabhol power plant was the exception rather than the rule.

Dhillon, who was born in northern India and completed his education in Mussoorie, Uttar Pradesh, migrated to Canada with his parents in 1970. Over the past 31 years, he has successfully founded and managed companies in construction, real estate development, finance and power project development and has used his business acumen to negotiate the deal in India despite delays.

He made his mark in 1991 by founding the independent power company Pacific Electric Power Development Corp, which won internationally competitive bids for two major power projects in the province of Ontario, Canada.

Dhillon then founded Canasia Power Corp to develop power projects worldwide with a special focus on India and won international competitive bids in Hungary, Iran and Pakistan.

Due to erratic power supply, many in Agra use back-up diesel generators whose emissions combined with traffic and other industrial pollution continue to pose a threat to the marble monument. International organisations including the United Nations are seized of this issue.

India's environment ministry has stipulated that enough steady power from Jawaharpur is to be supplied to the city of Agra so that diesel generators can be shut down, according to Canasia.