COLOMBO, Jan 4: The Indian government has rejected the controversial eastern Sampoor area as the possible site for the construction of a 500-MW coal-fired thermal power project.

The move came after protests by Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels and the pro rebel Tamil National Alliance. They said the project had a ‘hidden political agenda’ to evict Tamils from the Sampoor region.

A memorandum of understanding was signed at the end of December between Indian state run National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) for the construction of the power plant in Sampoor, a former stronghold of the LTTE.

However, recent reports reveal that the Indian government has written to President Mahinda Rajapakse stating that India was not in favour of the plant coming up in Sampoor.

The letter claims that the main reason for the opposition was the distance from Sampoor to the jetty in the eastern port city of Trincomalee. Indian sources said India would insist on another location for the setting up of the power plant.

Pro-LTTE Tamil politicians have claimed that choosing Sampoor as the project location was a move to consolidate gains from the military operation.