Alleging that Tamil Nadu suffered losses of Rs one lakh crore due to delayed power projects and purchase of power from private players at exorbitant rates, a PIL filed in the Madras High Court today sought creation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the 'scam'.
The first bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M M Sundresh, before which the PIL of one C Selvaraj came up for hearing, gave four weeks to government and TANGEDCO to submit its response.
Selvaraj charged former chairman of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board Gnanadesikan with ensuring artificial power shortage throughout the state by not implementing the new-age legislation Electricity Act 2003 in letter and spirit.
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Noting that he was at the helm of affairs in TNEB for 13 years since 2001, he alleged that some authorities prevented new projects from taking off and delayed their completion indefinitely to maintain an artificial power shortage.
After doing so, the officers purchased power from the private sector at exorbitant prices involving thousands of crores of rupees, he said.
The petitioner alleged there was criminal nexus between TNEB, contractors and public sector undertakings like BHEL and said the Board had not invoked statutory provisions to recover 'wheeling charges' from contractors who missed deadlines.
"Additionally, state-owned power generators at three places were shut down intermittently to create artificial power demand so as to ensure inflated private power purchase for eternity," the PIL said.
As against the production cost of Rs three per unit, the officials gave Rs 15 per unit to private producers, it added.
The petitioner also mentioned a 15-page complaint he had filed on March 29, 2014, disclosing 'embezzlement' of Rs 24,309 crore in the wind power sector alone. No action has been taken on the matter so far, he said.
Terming it as the state's biggest scandal so far, he sought constitution of an SIT, comprising eminent citizens like former CAG Vinod Rai, to monitor/probe the Rs one lakh crore 'scam'.
The PIL also wanted the court to bring TNEB under the control of an administrator "to curtail the continuing pilferage.
