Central India Power Company (Cipco), the Ispat group-sponsored 1082 mw fast-track power project, suffered a setback on Tuesday with the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday admitting a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by former MP Banwarilal Purohit challenging the power purchase agreement (PPA) signed between the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) and the Cipco.
The court directed both the parties to the contract not to take any further steps towards furthering the project.
Significantly, the power project is one of the two private sector projects in Vidarbha that Union power minister Suresh Prabhu is banking on for meeting his targetted capacity addition plans for the Tenth Plan period.
A division bench consisting of Justice J N Patel and Justice J P Deodhar, after recording a categorical undertaking of the MSEB that it would not prosecute the project unless dispute with Dabhol Power Corporation (DPC) is settled, directed the parties not to take any further steps in respect of Cipco