TN BJP Chief Annamalai levels corruption charges against DMK in issuing a contract to BGR Energy

TN BJP Chief Annamalai said TANGEDCO had cancelled the LOI issued to BGR Energy on March 23 last year as the bank guarantee for security deposit was not submitted despite several reminders.

DMK is back to its avowed business. i.e. corruption if we go by the charges levelled by TN chief BJP K. Annamalai. He accused the DMK government of reinstating the private power company, which was rejected by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) under the previous government.

Interacting with the media, Annamalai said firms without qualification, financial support, experience and expertise are being given contracts and tenders worth several crore rupees with the blessings of Goapalapuram (former CM Karunanidhi's family). He said public taxpayer's money is being swindled.

In a press statement, Annamalai said TANGEDCO had cancelled the LOI issued to BGR Energy on March 23 last year as the bank guarantee for security deposit was not submitted despite several reminders. He said the total cash and cash equivalent available with BGR Energy as of March 31 2021, was just Rs.33.30 crores, and they had declared a loss of Rs.355.42 crores in that financial year. 

The TN BJP chief said BGR energy filed a plea in Madras High Court to quash the order of the TANGEDCO. They had also requested that the value of the performance bank guarantee be reduced to 3% instead of 10 per cent as in the original LOA. The audited financial statement from which some of this information is drawn was released in June last year. There is a specific mention that the Madras High court directed the company to come up with a proposal to TANGEDCO with deviations in commercial terms for setting up a 1 x 660 MW supercritical power plant for a value of Rs. 4442.75 crore, BGR also confirms that the proposal to TANGEDCO was submitted post this. However, it failed to appear in the HC in July, and the case was adjourned. The contract was given in December 2019 and was cancelled due to the non-submission of a bank guarantee for Rs.440 crore.

While the firm had shot off a legal notice demanding Rs.500 crores as damages, Electricity Minister V. Senthil Balaji demanded a public apology.

Meanwhile, BGR Energy system on March 10, in filing, had informed the BSE that the company had received an amendment to the LoI on March 9 issued by the TANGEDCO for reinstatement of contract for a 660MW Supercritical ETPs expansion project.

Reacting to this, Annamalai tweeted, "How if you have a powerful family and with the ruling @arivalayam's influence, you can make a company like BGR (not even worth the value of the paper it is printed) into a giant in a matter of months." He said bank guarantee norms had been tweaked in favour of the company.

Senthil Balaji has denied the allegation that the government had favoured BGR Energy during the execution of the Ennore Thermal Power Station (ETPS) expansion project. He claimed the private power company would be executing the project at the old rate of ₹4,442 crores, fixed in 2018, and based on the directions of the Madras High Court. He said the contract for the project was given after due diligence was carried out. Balaji justified by saying the cost would go up by Rs.500-1000 crores if a new tender is floated. It is to be noted that HC quashed a case against Balaji in a job scam after settling with the petitioners.

Leader of Opposition Palaniswamy had alleged that "Corruption, Commission, Collection" is the mantra of the DMK government. AIADMK alleged that Rs.500 crore was swindled through the distribution of Pongal gift hampers by the DMK government and sought a CBI probe. Annamalai also made such allegations.