power-probe-triggers-political-war-in-telangana

Power sector woes and politics of power are inexorably linked to each other in Telangana, India’s youngest state with a long history of farm distress due to erratic power supply and poor irrigation facilities.

 

No wonder that the Congress, which came to power in the December 2023 assembly elections, lost no time in ordering a probe into the alleged irregularities in power sector during the nine-and-half year rule by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) from 2014-2023.

 

The judicial inquiry has now triggered a political war of words.

 

The BRS president and former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has questioned the credibility of the probe by the Justice L Narasimha Reddy Commission into the alleged irregularities in purchase of power from Chhattisgarh and construction of two thermal power plants – 1080MW Bhadradri power plant and 4000MW Yadadri power plant during the BRS regime.

 

In a 12-page reply to a notice served to him last week by Justice Narasimha Reddy, KCR, as the BRS chief is popularly known, alleged that despite being a legal luminary, Justice Reddy had made unfounded comments against the previous government even before completing the investigation.

 

“I believe you have crossed the limits beyond the terms of reference, which shows your determination to discredit the erstwhile government. You have lost the moral standing to head the commissioner of inquiry ground to inquire and you should recuse yourself from your responsibility and withdraw from the commission,” KCR said.

 

On March 13, the Congress government constituted a judicial commission headed by Justice Reddy, a retired high court chief justice, to probe into the alleged irregularities in the power sector during the KCR regime.

 

The Congress government had alleged that the then government signed the power purchase agreement (PPA) with Chhattisgarh for supply of 1,000MW of power in 2014 without inviting tenders, resulting in huge financial loss to the state exchequer.

 

Justice Reddy told reporters recently that apart from KCR, notices were served to as many as 25 officials and non-officials involved in the process of signing the PPA with the Chhattisgarh government.

 

He noted that when the PPA was signed, the power plant in Chhattisgarh from where the power was supposed to flow to Telangana was still under construction. The works on the power plant in Chhattisgarh commenced only in 2017, Justice Reddy observed.

 

The Commission chairman also said that due to the subcritical technology used in the Bhadradri thermal power plant, the additional expenditure incurred for extra coal was ₹250-300 crore per year. Similarly, there is an inordinate delay in the completion of Yadadri power plant due to non-laying of a dedicated railway line for supply of coal.

 

Stating that the PPA with Chhattisgarh was done only with the approval of the state electricity regulatory commission, the former chief minister said if the Congress government had any objections, it should have approached the Electricity Appellate Tribunal and later the Supreme Court.

 

“It is unfortunate that Justice Reddy lacks basic knowledge that inquiry commissions cannot be constituted against the orders of the Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) decisions,” he said.

 

The former chief minister said in view of the severe power crisis in Telangana, there was no other go for the government but to have a PPA with Chhattisgarh.

 

Regarding the setting up of Bhadradri power plant with subcritical technology, KCR said 90% of the thermal power plants were being run only on this technology. “The concept of super-critical technology was introduced in 2015.

 

Since Telangana (formed in 2014) was facing a massive power crisis, we decided to set up the thermal power stations at the earliest with sub-critical technology with the equipment supplied by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). Moreover, there was no restriction or ban on use of sub-critical technology till 2017,” he pointed out.

 

“However, ignoring the crucial fact, you made unreasonable comments that the state was at a great financial loss. Any person having some knowledge of the power sector would not agree to your contentions,” the BRS chief added.

 

He also found fault with the Justice Reddy Commission for questioning the location of the Yadadri power plant at Damaracherla. Stating that selection of the plant site is the prerogative of the state government, KCR said all the major thermal power plants are located on the banks of the river. “Damaracherla area of Nalgonda district is a backward area where sufficient lands are available even for future expansions or even setting up a solar plant also,” he said.

 

He attributed the delay in the completion of Yadadri power plant to the delay in granting environmental clearance and also the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

KCR alleged that Justice Reddy was delivering the judgement even before conducting the inquiry. “There is no point in deposing before the Commission, which has already come to a conclusion on its findings,” he said. (EOM)