Maharashtra not to disburse Central funds to REL

The Maharashtra government has declined to disburse Central funds to Reliance Energy Ltd (REL) under the Accelerated Power Development Reforms Programme (APDRP).

REL had been sanctioned Rs 275 crore under the scheme. Half of the sanctioned amount is in the form of grant and the other half is in the form of loan.

The state government has also said that it will not take the responsibility of recovering the loan component from REL

A senior secretariat official said: "It is not that we are averse to taking the responsibility of recovering the loan component from REL. We do this for the state-run Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB). However, in recent times, the Union government has amended the APDRP scheme. Now the private power utilities have to approach the Centre directly for the APDRP disbursement."

REL, in its representation to the state government, had said that under the APDRP scheme, the Centre transfers the sanctioned amount to the concerned state government (where the power utility is based). It is the state government that has to disburse the funds.

Replying to a Business Standard questionaire, an REL spokesperson, stated: "Around Rs 275 crore has been sanctioned to REL under the APDRP Scheme. But this is yet to disbursed. The modalities of the disbursement are to be decided by the APDRP funding agencies."

The spokesman said: "The initiatives include up-gradation of the sub-transmission and distribution systems / network and meter modernisation programme, which will lead to further improvement in the overall reliability of the supply and reduction of losses."