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.

Last updated on Nov 3^rd, 2009 at 22:53 pm IST--IANS

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