Sign of thaw? RIL will feed Anil’s pet project

There was uncertainty over gas supply to the REL project in Dadri as Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani was reportedly against the project.

In his 45-minute presentation to REL shareholders, Anil Ambani spelled out Rs 70,000 crore fresh investment in the power sector. This includes a Rs 48,000-crore 12,000 MW coal-based power generation project in Orissa and Rs 11,000 crore DAEC project.

‘‘We have made a proposal to the Orissa government. The 12,000 MW plant would require only about ten per cent of the coal reserves in the state,” he said. REL has signed an MoU with the Maharashtra government for setting up a gas-based combined cycle power plant upto 4,000 MW which will mainly serve consumers in Mumbai and bridge vast power deficits in the state, he said.‘‘Reliance is participating in a bidding process of the Power Grid for setting up transmission lines of about Rs 750 crore. It plans to invest another Rs 5,000 crore in western region and Rs 2,500 crore in Northern regions’ transmission projects.

Those who expected Reliance Energy’s annual general meeting to be a stormy affair with anxious shareholders asking uncomfortable questions about the Ambani brothers split were in for a surprise. None of the shareholders — who passed through an unprecedented security cardon — raised any question to Reliance Energy Chairman Anil Ambani who made his first public appearance after the ownership battle with elder brother Mukesh became public.

A visibly relaxed Anil was instead cracking jokes with shareholders who chose to ask nebulous questions about more bonus and dividend. A shareholder said he is not subscribing to the stock markets’ view which says that Mukesh has got all the ‘cash’ as his name suggests. Anil chose to just smile. Another said Anil’s wife Tina — who attended the meeting — should now join the board. ‘‘If she joins the board then what will I do?’’ asked Ambani amid laughter.