CHENNAI: Former Minister for Electricity, P Thangamani on Saturday clarified the various observations made in the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on public sector undertakings for the year ending March 31, 2019, tabled in the State Assembly on June 24. Thangamani said nowhere in the report it is said that corruption took place during this period. The media has been exaggerating these observations.
Addressing a press conference at AIADMK headquarters here, Thangamani said though the CAG report said there were losses to the tune of Rs 13,176 crore, the report attributed these losses to various reasons like procurement expenditure, amount spent for personnel etc. “Among the PSUs, electricity board and transport departments are service sectors. Their functions are not aimed at earning revenue.
Instead, the price charged per unit from the public is important. In Tamil Nadu alone, 100 units of power is provided free of cost for all houses and three-phase supply of power for farmers is provided free of cost,” he added. Thangamani said power supply could be ensured only by paying appropriate salary for the employees, procurement of necessary coal for thermal power stations and purchasing power from private players to fulfil the requirements of the public.
The former Minister also pointed out that during the previous DMK regime between 2006-2011, Tamil Nadu reeled under darkness and the CAG report, in 2010, said the State government had incurred huge losses due to purchase of coal and power at exorbitant costs.
On the CAG observation that there were losses due to procurement of substandard coal during 2014 and 2019, Thangamani said the CAG report had observed that similar power purchases at higher prices took place during the DMK regime too. Thangamani asserted that during the past 10 years, the AIADMK government never purchased substandard coal and there was basis for the charge in this regard.
Regarding the observation that the State government had entered into long-term agreements with eight private companies for purchasing power and this has resulted in Rs 712 crore loss, Thangamani said, “During this period, Tamil Nadu signed an agreement for purchasing power at Rs 4.91 per unit. But other States bought power at Rs 5.50 per unit.”The Minister also denied as wrong the allegations regarding agreements signed with GMR Corporation, the accumulated debt burden of the State electricity board, etc.
‘Squirrel interference mentioned in affidavit’
Meanwhile, Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji countered the criticisms levelled against him for saying that squirrels played a role in power disruption in Alangulam sub-station. In his tweet, the Minister quoted an affidavit filed by the TANGEDCO during the AIADMK regime before the Madras High Court last year stating that squirrel interference had led to the snapping of HT line from Alangulam sub-station. “Squirrels are known to climb up the electric poles and meddle with the wires. In this case, while doing so, the tail of the squirrel appears to have touched V-Cross’ arm,” the affidavit said.