CHENNAI: PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss alleged that the state government is delaying the commercial-scale generation of electricity in North Chennai Thermal Power Station Stage-3 so as to continue procuring power from private companies at higher prices.

In a statement, Anbumani said that the plant was constructed at Rs. 10,158 Crore and was inaugurated a year ago. "Chief minister MK Stalin opened the plant before the Lok Sabha election hastily. Usually, such power plants would start generation within weeks after inauguration. Thermal power plants will be considered operations only if they run continuously for 72 hours. But, the 800MW plant has not operated for 72 hours," he added.

Saying that the plant would have generated 1200 crore units of power during the last 11 months, Anbumani alleged that the plant only generated 100 crore units only.

"Reasons for the delay are incomplete construction of coal conveyor belt and ash ponds. If 1200 crore units were generated, the government could have saved Rs. 2,618 Crore," he pointed out.

In a separate statement, he expressed shock over an incident in which a police station in Ranipet district was attacked with a petrol bomb. He urged the government to arrest the perpetrators and take strong legal action.