Minister in queue for government sops

The scheme has been proposed by the State Irrigation Department, while Kore’s Non-conventional Energy Development Department will jointly implement it at with the Centre’s help. The scheme is aimed at helping the state tide over its power crisis.

The Warana Navshakti Nirman Kendra (WNNK), of which Kore is the director, has applied for nine such projects. Of these, seven with 10-MW capacity each are planned at Jangamhatti, Kumbhi, Tulse, Patgaon, Kasari, Udvi and Chitri, and two more at Bevgad and Dombalkavdi in Sindhudurg district.

The cost of generating one MW of power is about Rs 4.75 crore and the Centre is to render a subsidy of Rs 50 lakh per MW to encourage private participation.

Kore, elected in 2004 under the Jan Surajya Party banner from Kolhapur district, justified the proposal from WNNK, claiming that he had not misused his position. ‘‘It’s not my personal property, I am not taking benefit of this scheme. It’s a cooperative of which thousands of farmers are members. It’s for the benefit of the farmers,’’ he said.

‘‘Now, private people can set up captive power plants and even distribute electricity as per the new policy,’’ he added.

State bureaucrats, however, differ. ‘‘It is not proper for a minister to take benefits of such a scheme,’’ said a senior official, adding, ‘‘Ministers are not banned from taking advantage of government schemes, but it is ethically not correct, as a proposal forwarded by a minister carries more weight and is processed early.’’