Balco power plant chimney collapse probe begins

Raipur, Nov 3: A single-member judicial commission Tuesday began its probe into the Sep 23 accident at the under-construction Balco power plant when a chimney collapsed, killing 41 contract workers.

Sandeep Bakhshi, the district and sessions court judge who is probing the tragedy, told reporters at Korba town - the site of the plant, some 250 km from here - that the commission was tasked to conduct its inquiry on six points and would submit its report to the government in a period of three months.

He said the commission will comprehensively probe the tragedy and will do its job in "transparent and fair manner".

Vedanta Resources Plc-controlled Balco, in which the Indian government holds a 49 percent stake, had awarded a Chinese firm, Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation (SEPCO), the task of constructing two thermal power plants of 600 MW each at Korba. Later, SEPCO outsourced the work of construction of a 257-metre chimney to Gannon Dunkerley and Company Ltd (GDCL).

Korba police registered a case against Balco soon after the accident and arrested GDCL project manager Manoj Sharma Oct 7 on charges of several lapses, including using sub-standard material for the chimney's construction.

Police also interrogated about 20 Chinese engineers employed by SEPCO at Korba late last month but are yet to make any arrest.

--IANS