Punjab Govt mulls buying Rajpura thermal plant

Tribune News Service

Patiala, September 6

The Punjab Government is contemplating buying the Rajpura-based Nabha Thermal Plant, being run by Larsen & Toubro (L&T). The company has proposed to sell the plant at a cost of Rs 10,000 crore to the state government.

The government is already facing the heat over high charges which the private thermal plants charge per annum.

Confirming the development, A Venu Prasad, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), said L&T had sent a letter offering to sell the project. “We are examining it,” he said.

VK Gupta, spokesperson for the All-India Power Engineers Federation, said the real cost on 1,400 MW should not be more than Rs 5 crore per MW so it should be Rs 7,000 crore and from there the depreciated value of the plant could be worked out. “Before going into the outright purchase of this plant, some technical audit by a Central Government agency, like CAG or CEA, can be proposed, to arrive at a genuine price of the plant,” he said.

“We need to debate the methodology of purchase. In normal course, L&T should have come out with a tender for sale of this plant, enabling all those interested to buy it, including PSPCL. Buying on the quoted price of L&T shall be against the Government of India competitive buying guidelines as it tantamounts to purchase against a single quotation,” Gupta added.