Ranchi: Former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, who is in jail in a graft case, allegedly waived off Rs 10 crore electricity bill of a private cement factory which was owned by one his close associates, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) source said on Friday.
The matter came to light while the CBI was conducting investigations into contracts awarded for rural electrification and bills waived off by the Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB) during Koda`s regime from September 2006 to August 2008.
"We have come across many misdoings that took place in power and mines department during Koda`s regime. We came across a case of waiving off Rs 10 crore electricity bills of a cement factory owned by a close associate of Koda," a CBI source told a news agency.
According to the source, the JSEB waived off Rs 10 crore of an ailing cement factory reportedly acquired by Vinod Sinha. Koda allegedly waived off the bill in his capacity as in-charge of power.
Sinha is also in jail for more than eight months.
"It is surprising that nearly Rs 80 crore electricity bills of different companies, including Rs 10 crore of a cement factory, have been waived off by different governments in the last 10 years. This, despite the fact that the JSEB every year suffers loss of more than Rs 1,000 crore," said an official of the JSEB.
Koda was arrested in November 2009 in a graft case. He is also at centre of a Rs 2,500 crore money laundering scam.
IANS
