Chandigarh, Jun 22 (IANS): The Punjab Cabinet on Monday gave the nod for the redevelopment of the 1,764 acres of the now-closed Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Power Plant in Bathinda.

Following the decision, the land, belonging to the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL), will now be acquired by the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA), under the Department of Housing and Urban Development, through a 80:20 revenue sharing scheme.

PUDA was also allowed by the Cabinet, which met here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, to raise loan up to Rs 100 crore for development and sale of the site with the state guarantee.

The plant was shut down in 2018 as per the modalities worked out by a sub-committee set up on August 24, 2017, for the closure of the state-owned thermal plants in view of the Central Electricity Agency (CEA) guidelines to retire non-viable thermal power plants that have exceeded 25-year life span.

Subsequently, another Cabinet sub-committee was set up on May 18, with the Housing and Urban Development, the Industries and Commerce and the Local Government Ministers as members to work out the modalities of the redevelopment of the Bathinda plant land.

The state government decided to redevelop the site to bring prosperity to the area by maximising direct and indirect employment generation opportunities.