DF constituents firm on scrapping Enron project

DEC 27: Taking a tough stand on scrapping of the controversial Enron power project, small constituents of the ruling Democratic Front have...

DEC 27: Taking a tough stand on scrapping of the controversial Enron power project, small constituents of the ruling Democratic Front have urged the Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to take measures for enhansing power generation capacity of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB).

“There cannot be any alternative to scrapping of the Enron project,”said senior PWP leader N D Patil who is also the chairman of the coordination committee of the DF.

The MSEB will have to pay Rs 7,144 crore every year to the Enron towards the payment of power purchased from the latter. This will make the state government bankrupt, Patil warned.

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The leaders of the small parties met Chief Minister Deshmukh on Tuesday and demanded setting up of a committee of experts to hike the power generation capacity of the MSEB. “The State can do without Enron power. It is a myth that there will be total chaos on power front if Enron project is scrapped. Afterall, just 300 MW of the 10,000 MW electricity consumed in the state comes from Enron, he pointed out.

The leaders also urged the government to utilise full capacity of MSEB’s gas-based plant at Uran. The unit can generate additional 500 MW power if it is provided with sufficient quantity of Naphtha, he said.

Justifying the demand for cancellation of the project, Patil said the Sena-BJP alliance government had also opined that the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) would not be binding on the State as it was against the public interest. Even the legal experts have suggested that the PPA does not have legal binding, he said.

Besides, scrapping the project will not be a costly affair considering the exorbitant tariff the state will be made to pay in the long run. Enron had demanded compensation of Rs 960 crore when the Sena-BJP government had decided to scrap the project. It will demand compensation to the tune of Rs 2000-3000 crore if the government takes a similar decision now, he said.

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The state has every right to go in for cheap power. The costliest power purchased by the MSEB is from Tatas which is Rs 2 per unit. On the contrary, the Enron power tariff will be to the tune of Rs 9 per unit by the year end, he said.

The small constituents of the DF include Peasants and Workers Party, Janata Dal (S), Samajwadi Party, Communist Party of India (M) and Republican Party of India.

The parties have also decided to undertake an awareness campaign in protest against the globalisation and privatisation. “We will present Enron issue as a classic example of the evils of privatisation,”Patil said.