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Revanth orders judicial inquiry in power sector ‘irregularities’ during BRS govt
The projects include the alleged irregularities in power purchases from Chhattisgarh and construction of Yadadri and Bhadradri thermal power projects
Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday ordered a judicial inquiry into the alleged irregularities in power purchases from Chhattisgarh and construction of Yadadri and Bhadradri thermal power projects by the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government in the state.
The chief minister made an announcement to this effect while intervening during the discussion on the white paper on Telangana power sector, tabled in the state assembly by deputy chief minister holding finance portfolio Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.
He alleged that “never in the past” did the previous BRS government “disclose any facts on the power sector situation” in the state assembly. “We are now scanning the department and disclosing the factual position to the people. The previous rulers should gracefully accept the truths,” he said.
The CM alleged that the previous BRS government had entered into an agreement with Chhattisgarh for purchase of 1,000 MW without even calling for tenders and this led to a huge burden of ₹1,362 crore on the state exchequer.
“When we were in the opposition, we questioned the deal with Chhattisgarh in the state assembly. But we were thrown out from the House by the marshals. When an official disclosed the facts, he was demoted and shunted to a remote place,” he alleged.
Similarly, the previous BRS government had entered into an agreement with a company for adopting an outdated sub-critical technology. In the Bhadradri power project, too, there were scams worth thousands of crores.
“We will order a judicial inquiry into these three issues. We are also ready to constitute a fact-finding committee with members of all parties to look into the issue of providing 24X7 power supply to the agriculture sector,” Revanth announced.
Power sector in financial crisis
Earlier, presenting the white paper on the power sector, Vikramarka said the previous BRS government had pushed the sector into deep financial distress leading to the bankruptcy of power distribution companies (Discoms). “The financial health of the power sector is precarious and is a matter of grave concern,” he said.
The finance minister said at the time of formation of the state the installed generation capacity of TSGENCO (Telangana State Power Generation Corporation Limited) was 4365.26 MW. Prior to the formation of the state itself, several generation projects had been conceived and initiated with a capacity of 2,960 MW.
“The commissioning of these projects after the formation of the state has been critical in providing reliable power supply. In addition, special provisions in the AP Reorganisation Act 2014 regarding power sector enabled the state to get over 1,800 MW power beyond the installed capacity in the state at that time,” he said.
After formation of the state, only one power project of 1,080 MW capacity was conceived and commissioned at Bhadradri Thermal Power Stations (BTPS) with inordinate time and cost overrun using subcritical technology, Vikramarka said.
Another power project of 4,000 MW in Nalgonda District (Yadadri thermal power station) was taken up at a location far removed from the coal mines leading to avoidable coal transport costs of over ₹800 crore per annum which are liable to further escalate with time and will be applicable over entire life time of the project.
“The accumulated losses of Discoms as on March 31, 2023 stand at ₹62,461 crore. Discoms have a debt of ₹81,516 crore as on October 31, 2023. Of this, an amount of ₹30,406 crore has been borrowed as working capital primarily to pay power charges to the generators. Despite this, an amount of ₹28,673 crore of generation and transmission dues remain to be paid by Discoms,” he said.
The difficulty faced by Discoms in paying power purchase bills has been aggravated by the default of government in paying the power bills of its own departments which have now mounted to ₹28,842 crore.
“Of this, the amount due from lift irrigation projects alone is ₹14,193 crore. The government’s default in paying committed true up charges of ₹14,928 crore has further contributed to the further deterioration of Discom finances,” the minister said.
In these circumstances, merely to keep the power supply going, Discoms are resorting to borrowings on a regular basis which have reached unsustainable proportions.
“Discoms are now finding themselves in debt trap due to failure of the government in paying its dues and commitments to the sector,” the finance minister added.
Hitting back, senior BRS leader and former power minister G Jagadish Reddy accused the Congress government of distorting the facts to blame the previous government.
“There are absolutely no irregularities in the construction of Yadadri or Bhadradri plants. We are ready for any kind of inquiry. If the government is interested, it can order even a judicial inquiry,” Jagadish Reddy said.`
