Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (MahaGenco) has served a defamation notice to the Delhi-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) over a research report published by the latter in February. The report stated that pollution from Chandrapur’s Super Thermal Power Station (CSTPS) impacted public health, including causing premature deaths not just in Chandrapur and Nagpur, but also in cities such as Mumbai and Pune, which are at a considerable distance.
Dubbing the study “mischievous”, “baseless”, “false”, “misleading” and “unscientific”, MahaGenco through its advocate imposed damages to the tune of ₹10 crore on CREA, with added liabilities of ₹1 crore per day after March 20, in case the report is not withdrawn. A copy of the notice, dated March 12, has been reviewed by Hindustan Times.
Nandikesh Sivalingam, director, CREA, confirmed the development but refused to comment. “We would not like to say anything beyond what is contained in our response to MAHAGENCO,” he said.
