The Uttar Pradesh government has incurred a loss of Rs 489 crore in last two years by handing over the power distribution of Agra to a private company Torrent Power, the accountant general (AG) has said in a report.
The AG, in its preliminary report, also said that the previous Mayawati government had agreed to provide electricity to the private company at less than the actual rate, and in the 20 years of the lease period agreed upon by the Uttar Pradesh government and the distribution company, the loss would be around Rs 5,348 crore.
According to the report, the company was provided extra power, even though the revenue recovery rate on the higher supply was not fixed. The report takes into account the period between April 2010 and March 2012.
The report has also indicted the then Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) management of colluding with the consultant in allocating the contract to the company. According to the report, the UPPCL awarded the power distribution contract to the private company at a rate which was 27 per cent less than what the energy task force had recommended.
The ETF, headed by the then chief secretary, had recommended that the company be handed over the contract on an agreement of realising revenue at the rate of Rs 2.10 per unit in the first year. However, the UPPCL gave the contract at the rate of Rs 1.54 per unit. Likewise, the agreement prescribed a recovery rate of Rs 2.45 per unit for the 20-year period. However, the UPPCL gave the company at the rate of Rs 2.10 per unit.
The report is likely to cause political trouble for the Akhilesh Yadav government, which, till only a few days ago, had advocated support for Torrent in the Taj city, while indicating that even power distribution of Kanpur may
be handed over to the company.
According to the AG report, the state government will suffer a loss of Rs 1,136.46 crore for the wrong agreement with the private power distribution company; besides a loss of Rs 2,022.46 crore is estimated if the agreement is now changed.
The secretary-general of the All India Power Engineers Association Shailendra Dubey said that his organisation had been raising the issue since the UPPCL entered into an agreement with Torrent in 2008.
The AG, in its preliminary report, also said that the previous Mayawati government had agreed to provide electricity to the private company at less than the actual rate, and in the 20 years of the lease period agreed upon by the Uttar Pradesh government and the distribution company, the loss would be around Rs 5,348 crore.
According to the report, the company was provided extra power, even though the revenue recovery rate on the higher supply was not fixed. The report takes into account the period between April 2010 and March 2012.
The report has also indicted the then Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) management of colluding with the consultant in allocating the contract to the company. According to the report, the UPPCL awarded the power distribution contract to the private company at a rate which was 27 per cent less than what the energy task force had recommended.
The ETF, headed by the then chief secretary, had recommended that the company be handed over the contract on an agreement of realising revenue at the rate of Rs 2.10 per unit in the first year. However, the UPPCL gave the contract at the rate of Rs 1.54 per unit. Likewise, the agreement prescribed a recovery rate of Rs 2.45 per unit for the 20-year period. However, the UPPCL gave the company at the rate of Rs 2.10 per unit.
The report is likely to cause political trouble for the Akhilesh Yadav government, which, till only a few days ago, had advocated support for Torrent in the Taj city, while indicating that even power distribution of Kanpur may
be handed over to the company.
According to the AG report, the state government will suffer a loss of Rs 1,136.46 crore for the wrong agreement with the private power distribution company; besides a loss of Rs 2,022.46 crore is estimated if the agreement is now changed.
The secretary-general of the All India Power Engineers Association Shailendra Dubey said that his organisation had been raising the issue since the UPPCL entered into an agreement with Torrent in 2008.