Delay
costs KSK "unjustifiable financial
loss"
Is
Adani delay deliberate to ensure GUVNL
cant buy cheap power and in the end buys
power from Adani at a higher rate?
Hyderabad
based KSK energy which has agreement with
State owned Gujarat Mineral Development
Corporation(GMDC) for supply of coal for
its 1750 MW power plant at Chhatisgarh has
written to Gujarat Government drawing
attention that GMDC is going slow to start
mining at Morga II coal block . It has
drawn the attention that GMDC had promised
it would begin the development of the coal
block but however was going at a very slow
pace which was resulting in financial loss
to KSK.
The
letter written by KSK gains significance
because it is being openly alleged that
GMDC has been deliberately going slow at
the behest of a Gujarat based industrial
house. The official KSK communiqué points
out that GMDC has given Adani Enterprsises
the job of exploration at Morga II block
from where coal is to be supplied for the
power plant. Interestingly, KSK and Adani
are competitors in the energy sector.
GMDC
awarded coal exploration contract to Adani
enterprises in October 2009 but no work
has yet commenced. K Kishore, director of
KSK has written to industries and mines
secretary Maheshwar Sahu in Gujarat
requesting that GMDC be asked to present a
plan as to how they wish to comply with
the development milestones.
“We
have endeavoured to keep all our
commitments to GMDC and we are on schedule
in our power project and cannot afford any
delay in receipt of coal from Morga”, Mr
S Kishore has written in his letter.
KSK
cannot bid for power supply to Gujarat if
coal exploration does not begin.
KSK has offered to supply power to
Gujarat at 1.98 rs per unit. This delay
could benefit Adani who would then supply
power at a higher rate to Gujarat. Earlier
the Gujarat High Court also pulled up the
Gujarat government for favouring Adani and
buying power at higher cost and weeding
out other competitors who were ready to
supply power at same rate or in some cases
even at rates lower than Adanis.
In
2008, Gujarat government purchased power
on short term basis worth Rs 670 crore out
of which 437 crore of power was purchased
from Adani Enterprises. Adani enterprise
sold power at a whopping rate of Rs 6.48
paise per unit.
Leader
of the Opposition in Gujarat and senior
Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil has said
that the ruling BJP government in Gujarat
was not providing a level playing field to
other competitors. “It is sad that
Gujarat government often suffers losses
just to ensure that Adani earns well,”
Mr. Gohil said.
However,
in the letter sent to Gujarat government
whose copy is with this newspaper, Mr S
Kishore has pointed out that KSK has
achieved financial closure for its entire
3600 MW power project to be set up in
Chhatisgarh.. KSK has informed gujarat
government that it so keen to commence
plant at the earliest that it has already
made necessary capital arrangements to
fund the project execution. KSK has said
for this ambitious 16,190 crore project,
they have raised 4,048 crore from the
market through its IPO and tied up with a
variety of banking and financial
institutions and have managed to get Rs
12,142 crore.
KSK
has already placed equipment purchase
order for its power plant but sadly till
coal exploration commences, it is
helpless.
KSK
has written to Gujarat government, “our
financial leaders have expressed their
concern at the slow paced development of
Morga II coal block. Failure of GMDC would
result in huge financial loss for our
company. “KSK has requested a joint
meeting of GMDC and Gujarat government
officials to sort out the issue.
