The transfer of the Reliance Infra's integrated power business in Mumbai to new owner will be allowed after the company pays pending dues worth Rs 2430 crore, Maharashtra Energy Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule announced in the Legislative Assembly today.
"The transfer of Reliance Infrastructure (its integrated power business in Mumbai) to the new owner will be done only after the company pays Rs 2430 crore to the government. This is one of the conditions of the transfer," the minister said while replying to a debate on the issue.
The monsoon session of the state legislature is currently underway in Nagpur, the second capital of Maharashtra.
Bawankule also announced the extension of the term of the judicial probe into the death of farmer Dharma Patil by three months.
Patil (84), a farmer hailing from Dhule district, had consumed poison at the Mantralaya (the secretariat) in Mumbai in February this year demanding better compensation for his land that was acquired for a state government project. He died in hospital a few days later.
Reliance Infrastructure had announced the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission's (MERC's) approval to sale the 100 per cent stake in its integrated Mumbai power business to Adani Transmission Ltd (ATL) for an estimated value of Rs 18,800 crore.
The issue was raised in the House during a debate on the supplementary demands worth Rs 11,445 crore raised by the BJP-led Maharashtra government.
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The supplementary demands were tabled in the Assembly last week. The discussion on them began today.
The Opposition parties had targetted the state government over the supplementary demands, accusing it of financial mess up by incurring huge debt.
During a debate, NCP's Chhagan Bhujbal said that Reliance Energy (read RInfra) owed the government Rs 2,000 crore in taxes since the last two years.
"Reliance Energy which supplies electricity to Mumbai suburbs owes the state Rs 2000 crore. How is the government going to recover these dues? The government should take a stand that unless the company pays the amount, it will not be allowed to be sold," Bhujbal demanded.
Another senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar questionned the "rise" in the state debt to Rs 5 lakh crore from Rs 2.7 lakh crore in 2014 when the BJP government came to power.
Questionning the financial wisdom, Pawar said the state government has made a provision of Rs 250 crore for the bullet train project which he said is being opposed by 155 of total 288 MLAs.
He dubbed the opposition of the Shiv Sena, a ruling constituent, to the project as a farce and drama.
"If the Sena is really against the project, the party should vote against these (supplementary) demands," Pawar said.