Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has taken strong exception to the remarks made by BJP State president and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Bhadradri Thermal Power Project (BTPP).
“The allegations made on the execution of the 4×270 megawatt (1,080 MW) BTPP by TS Genco are false and baseless,” said TRS senior leader and State Planning Board vice-chairman B. Vinod Kumar here on Tuesday.
“It explains how the BJP leader lacks even basic knowledge and information on the issue and how ignorant he is. If Mr. Sanjay’s allegation that the State Government has paid commission to equipment suppliers (BHEL — a Central PSU) is true, does it mean that the money has gone from Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (State) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Centre)”, he asked.
Addressing a press conference along with Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar and other leaders of the party on Tuesday, he said that BHEL is a Central PSU and had participated in bidding along with other private companies for equipment supply and execution of the project and the State Government had given the contract to it on nomination basis, even as the then Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal asked the TS Government on why it could not give the contract to private agencies (companies).
Further, he pointed out that Telangana had written to Secretary, Ministry of Power, on March 21 this year, raising concern over the increasing power prices in energy exchange and that there was a need to control the tariff stating that the trend would burden the discoms heavily. Although the Ministry had taken note of Telangana’s view, nothing was done in that direction, he said.
Responding to Mr. Sanjay’s allegation that Telangana was purchasing power at exorbitant rates when it was available even at ₹3 per unit, Mr. Vinod Kumar drew the former’s attention to the MoP Secretary’s May 20 letter to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) fixing the average price of energy at ₹6.76 per unit and ₹12 per unit during peak time. It even went up to ₹20 per unit in the exchange.
He pointed out that Telangana was paying ₹7.63 per unit for energy from NTPC Kudgi plant, ₹5.78 per unit for NTPC Vallur plant and ₹5.23 per unit for another NTPC unit in Tamil Nadu. “Does it mean that NTPC or Mr. Modi gave commission to KCR?”, Mr. Vinod Kumar asked and termed the comments to Tuglaq act.
Further, he explained that the State Government had taken up BTPP and Yadadri Thermal Power Station when the then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu stopped supply of 1,700 MW power when Telangana was facing 2,700 MW shortage immediately after bifurcation and the Centre helped AP further by transferring seven mandals from erstwhile Khammam district to AP, including the 4×115 MW (460 MW) Lower Sileru Hydel Project that runs round the year with lowest generation cost of ₹0.25 per unit.
In case the equipment supplied by BHEL was scrap, how come all the four units of BTPP were generating power, Mr. Ajay Kumar sought to know.
