The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has sought the power ministry’s reply on diversion of excess coal from Reliance Power’s (R-Power) Sasan project in Madhya Pradesh to another other power project in the state.
“We have received CAG comments on this. We are examining them and we would reply to them soon,” Power Secretary P Uma Shankar said.
According to reports, CAG has sent some queries on the diversion of surplus coal from mines attached to R-Power's 4,000 Mw ultra-mega power project in Sasan to its Chitrangi project.
R-Power in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange said: “To the best of our information, there is no CAG report on the decision taken by the empowered group of ministers (eGoM) regarding use of incremental coal from coal blocks allotted to its ultra-mega power projects (UMPPs).”
The CAG audit team has only sent some queries/observations on UMPPs, which are under examination in the power ministry and will be replied to by them, the company said.
It further said eGoM’s decision to permit use of incremental coal does not result in any loss to exchequer nor it confers any undue benefit to the company and no commercial conditions were changed subsequent to the award of projects to R-Power.
EGoM headed by Sushil Kumar Shinde, in August 2008, had given approval to the company’s proposal for diversion of coal. R-Power is also executing two more UMPPs — Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Tilaiya in Jharkhand. These projects are likely to be commissioned during the upcoming 12th Plan period (2012-17).
