The 1000 megawatt Cheyyur superthermal power project, to be executed by the National Thermal Power Corporation(NTPC), has picked up a controversy due to its location and its environmental impact. The Cheyyur project, located on the sea coast at Cheyyur village 95 km south of Chennai, will use coal as fuel. The objections from environmentalists was on the count that the site for the Cheyyur plant in the backwater region was a mix of lagoon, salt marshes and salt pans.