MK Making Baseless Charges on Power Buy at High Cost: Minister

CHENNAI: Strongly denying the allegations of DMK president M Karunanidhi regarding the functioning of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, Minister for Electricity R Viswanathan on Saturday charged the octogenarian with being unable to stomach the achievements of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

In a five-page statement here, the Minister detailed how the AIADMK government had augmented power generation in the State during the past four years. In all, steps had been taken to make available 5,346.50 mw of power through commissioning new power projects as well as through long term and medium term power purchase agreements.

“This achievement is unprecedented in the history of the TNEB. The charge that power is being purchased on a large scale from private players at a high cost is totally baseless. Only during unavoidable circumstances like festivals and examination time for students, three per cent of power is purchased at high cost,” he explained.

Stating that all rules were duly followed while procuring power from private players, he said Karunanidhi had levelled certain allegations without checking the facts and based on a PIL filed by a former employee of the TNEB, against whom disciplinary action was taken.

The Minister further said the HC had just taken notice of the case and had not passed any order on it.

Dismissing the allegation that irregularities to the tune of Rs.6,000 crore had taken place in the purchase of static electric metres for replacing the electro mechanical metres, he said it was made through open tenders and by following all rules.

Viswanathan said the people of the State would teach a befitting lesson to these ‘letter-pad politicians’ in the 2016 Assembly elections.

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