Fresh row erupts over Enron review panel

MUMBAI, FEB 6: Just as the various constituents of the Congress-led Democratic Front have reached an agreement on the constitution of the ...

MUMBAI, FEB 6: Just as the various constituents of the Congress-led Democratic Front have reached an agreement on the constitution of the committee to review the Enron project, a fresh row has erupted over its terms of reference.

“We have agreed on the constitution of the committee. However, now there is a major dispute on the terms of reference. Under such circumstances, we are doubtful, if the committee will be constituted at all in the near future,” a senior NCP Minister said.

As per the agreement, former MSEB chief Madhav Godbole will be the chairman of the committee, while HDFC chief Deepak Parekh, former Director, Indira Gandhi Developmental Research Institute, Kirit Parikh, Director, Tata Institute of Energy Research, Deepak Pachauri, and former Secretary, Department of Energy, Government of India, E A S Sharma are likely to be the members of the committee.

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Significantly, though Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had on December 24 declared that the committee would be set up in a couple of days, the State Government was unable to set up the panel owing to political differences. Initially, NCP had objected to the setting up of such a committee. However, when PWP, a constituent of the Front, threatened to pull out of the government, it conceded to the proposal.

On the dispute among the constituents of the Democratic Front, the NCP Minister said, the Congress and PWP feel the entire project should be reviewed, while the NCP is of the view that only the second phase of the project, which was approved during the Sena-BJP’s rule, ought to be reviewed.

The NCP Minister observed that the Congress was attemping to settle political scores through the review committee since NCP President Sharad Pawar was instrumental in signing the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the first phase.

When Pawar was at the helm of affairs, the Enron Power Corporation had signed a MoU with the MSEB. Subsequently, when the Sena-BJP assumed power, it had cancelled the entire project, for obvious political reasons. However, later on reviewing the project afresh, it signed an agreement for the second phase of the project also.

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A senior Congress Minister today said, in the larger interests of the state, it is essential to review the entire project, Besides, he said, the Enron Power Corporation should also submit the entire details of the Rs 65 crore it had spent on educating a section of bureaucrats in India. “Since a senate member had made a specific statement in USA that the Enron spent Rs 65 crore on educating top bureaucrats, it was essential that they declare the names of the beneficiaries,” the Minister added.