According to a new report published on Thursday, Maharashtra could save as much as ₹75,000 crore in the next decade by implementing three steps in its energy sector: shutting down old coal power plants by 2022, halting the construction of a new unit at the Bhusawal thermal power plant (which is in surplus to the state’s requirements) and replacing coal contracts with cleaner alternatives over the next 10 years.
This analysis comes at a time when Covid-19 is causing tax revenues to fall sharply. For comparison, with the savings opportunities presented in the new report by research group Climate Risk Horizons (CRH), Maharashtra’s fiscal slippage for the financial year (FY) 2021-22 is estimated at ₹33,000 crore, according to India Ratings.
