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APGenco diverting coal to Hinduja plant, alleges Sarma
Former Union power secretary EAS Sarma alleged that APGenco is diverting coal to Hinduja National Power Corporation’s thermal power plant. The said unscrupulous move is in violation of conditions that govern the fuel supply contract with Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, which will result in an additional cost to Genco and the downstream electricity consumers.
Visakhapatnam: Former Union power secretary EAS Sarma alleged that APGenco is diverting coal to Hinduja National Power Corporation’s thermal power plant. The said unscrupulous move is in violation of conditions that govern the fuel supply contract with Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, which will result in an additional cost to Genco and the downstream electricity consumers.
- Former Union Power Secretary alleges nexus between APGenco and the MNC
- Alleges that Genco went out of way to benefit Hindujas, which led to additional burden on State’s exchequer
In a letter to Chief Secretary SP Tucker, Sarma said that Hinduja was contractually bound to arrange their own coal supplies and provide electricity to the State at the price at which it had bid in a competitive format. “If the company failed to comply with its contractual commitment, the consequent damages would be recoverable from it.
Those damages include the extra cost at which the State utilities would then have to obtain electricity from alternate sources. By diverting its coal covered by an FSA with MCL, APGenco is going out of the way to benefit Hinduja at the expense of the public exchequer and the electricity consumers in the State,” Sarma alleged.
He said by giving coal to Hinduja, indirectly, APGenco would be forced to import coal at a much higher price. Stating that it is a serious matter, the former civil servant said that an independent probe by an investigating agency will reveal the cost to the State. “Apparently, there is connivance between APGenco officers and Hinduja,” Sarma charged.
Sarma also said that Hinduja group has not paid its tax arrears to VUDA and GVMC. “These agencies, for reasons best known to them, have acquiesced in it. GVMC has been aggressive in collecting taxes from the less influential citizens,” he added. Earlier, in two related cases, APGenco had apparently acted against the public interest.
First, it is importing coal from companies such as Adani at prices 30 per cent higher than those at which Coal India Limited (CIL) had offered. Sarma reminded that Adani Group has come under the scrutiny of the Enforcement Directorate for over-invoicing imported coal. “The latest Panama revelations on offshore accounts make a mention of those associated with this group.
Secondly, APGenco has been insisting on paying tariffs three times higher than Telangana and Tamil Nadu for rail-cum-ocean transportation, thereby imposing an undue cost on the electricity consumers,” he added
