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Chennai: A day after an anti-corruption NGO blew the whistle on a Rs 1,000-crore domestic coal over-invoicing scam in state discom Tangedco, state electricity minister P Thangamani blamed it on a stay order granted by the Madras high court about 13 years ago.
Arappor Iyakkam on Wednesday released documents which showed that Tangedco paid about Rs 1,000 crore extra between 2011 and 2016 to South India Corporation Ltd (SICL), a contractor in-charge of movement and handling of coal from Vizag Port. Under the agreement, SICL would pay the wagon unloading charges to port authorities (including various labour charges) and get it reimbursed from Tangedco.
The firm won the initial contract for the job in 2001, but Tangedco continues to engage them thanks to multiple extensions till date. Auditors have stated that this payment was made though no specific bills were submitted. Tangedco itself stopped payments to the contractor since August 2016.
When Thangamani was questioned about the over-invoicing, he said there was a pending high court stay order, which prevented them from identifying new contractors.
“This company has got this contract since the DMK’s regime. Even they didn’t change this contractor,” he said. When asked specifically about the extra payment, he said no wrong had been done. Despite repeated attempts, he did not respond to calls in the evening.
The stay order that Thangamani refers to was obtained in 2005 and the state government had been unable to vacate the interim bar so far. When asked about the 13-year-old interim order remaining unchallenged, Tangedco chairman and managing director Vikram Kapur admitted on Wednesday that it was ‘ridiculous’ and said: “We have spoken to our legal department to vacate the stay and float a tender to identify new contractors.”
Regarding payments to the contractor, Kapur said it had been stopped due to audit objections. “The contractor argued that there was no need to provide bills when he engaged private labour at Vizag port. It is under dispute with the CAG. We shall take a call after the final report is out,” he said.
Every year, Tangedco gets between 2 million and 3.5 million tonnes of coal from Vizag port, documents show. According to document dated February 2017, Tangedco said it paid Rs 1,267.49 crore from 2011-12 to 2015-16 to the Vizag Port Trust through the contractor.
Vizag Port, in its reply, rubbished Tangedco’s claim, and clarified that it was paid only Rs 239.55 crore by the contractor. The audit branch of Tangedco in November 2016 stated that the contractor was reimbursed for payment of different labour charges and service tax without furnishing proof of payment to the port.
“This procedure cannot be accepted as per norms,” the auditor said, adding that the amount would be withheld. Responding to a TOI questionnaire on Thursday, SICL said they would be issuing a press release later. |
