Government today pulled up state-owned power equipment supplier Bhel for delaying the projects causing acute shortage of electricity in various parts of the country.
"The delays are inexcusable and reflect poorly on Bhel as an EPC contractor. The delay has contributed to substantial power shortages.
Public sector rules, regulations and procedures have contributed to this situation and these need to be changed urgently to enable companies like Bhel to function effectively," Minister of State for Power Jairam Ramesh said.
The minister pointed out that Lehara Mohabbat Power Project in Punjab, of which Bhel is the EPC contractor, is nearly 15 months behind schedule. Similarly, there are other projects like Amarkantak (MP), Chandrapura (Jharkhand) and Bellary (Karnataka) that are running behind schedule.
The minister said the two 250 Mw units at the Guru Hargobind Thermal Power Plant at Lehra Mohabbat in Punjab would start commercial production by October this year, nearly 15 months after the scheduled time.
There would be two 250 Mw units at Lehra Mohabbat in Punjab to scale up power generation in the state, along with two additional 250 Mw units at the Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Power Plant in Bhatinda; three 660 Mw units at Talwandi Sabo to be put up by Sterlite Industries; and two 250 Mw units at Gobindwal to be put up by GVK Group.
Apart from this, 660 or 800 Mw units are being planned at Rajpura and Gidderbah.