MUMBAI, March 31: Alarmed by the massive criticism of his government, Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde today declared that the proposal of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) to lease a 500 MW unit at the Chandrapur Super Thermal Power Station to a leading industrial house to garner additional funds for the Board stands cancelled.Replying to the debate on the role of MSEB vis-a-vis the plight of the farmers, Munde said it was proposed that the industrial house will pay Rs 550 crore to the Board as lease rent to get benefit in payment of income tax. ``In view of the criticism and also strong opposition from the employees organisations, we have decided to drop the proposal,'' Munde told the Legislative Assembly. Munde also announced that the proposal to semi-privatise power distribution in certain areas is also under active consideration of the Board. ``I feel that in those areas, where the revenue collection is poor owing to either power theft or for some other reasons, the power distributionshould be privatised partially,'' Munde said, adding, when the Board took it up on experimental basis in Bhiwandi and neighbouring areas, the results were encouraging.
Refuting the charges of corruption levelled by Opposition members, Munde said he was prepared to transfer all the engineers who have completed five years at one place, provided the elected representatives should not approach him for cancellation of the orders.
Initiating the debate, Congress member Rohidas Patil came down heavily on the Board and its officials headed by Purushottam Gajralwar for rampant corruption and malpractices. ``The erstwhile Congress government had permitted Enron for a 740 MW unit and now the alliance government, which had promised to dump the project in the Arabian sea, has permitted it for 1440 MW projects,'' Patil said. Board officials in Bhiwandi and Thane have released illegal connections for a sum of Rs 35 lakh, he added. ``The government has lost control over the Board. Now it is fully under control of someextra constitutional authorities outside the government. The Board affairs should be probed either by the CBI or CID,'' Patil demanded.
Basak takes over from controversial Gajralwar
* The Sena-BJP Government today appointed principal secretary (energy) Ashok Basak as the new Chairman of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board. An IAS official of the 1967 batch, Basak succeeds Purushottam Gajralwar, whose term expired today. However, in the reconstituted board, Gajralwar has been appointed as a member (technical) along with G S Gill (member, administration), A Krishna Rao (member, accounts) and Shyam Sunder Deo (member). Gajralwar's term was ridden with several controversies, with Congress members levelling serious charges of corruption against him even during the debate on the budget.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
