Uttarakhand cancels hydel project allotments

Buckling under pressure from different quarters, the Uttarakhand government today cancelled the allotment of controversial hydel projects to various companies.

Dehra Dun: Buckling under pressure from
different quarters, the Uttarakhand government today cancelled
the allotment of controversial hydel projects to various
companies.

The state government in a statement said that the letters
of award issued to different companies for setting up hydel
projects have now become "redundant".

Also, the Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVNL),
the nodal agency for the allotment of hydel projects, has been
asked to modify the advertisement of July 25,2008 under which
the bids for self-identified projects were invited.

A new advertisement would soon be published in the media
inviting fresh bids under the self-identified route, the
government said in the statement.

The opposition parties led by Congress have been seeking
a CBI probe into the manner in which the government allotted
these hydel projects to various companies, including liquor
company, Punjab Distilleries.

It was alleged that some of the companies were purposely
floated to grab the state hydel projects and that the
government had not verified their antecedents before awarding
the contracts.

Besides, in some cases, an individual person or company
was awarded more than three projects under different names in
violation of the state`s 2008 power policy.

The government has admitted to flaws in the July 25,2008
ad, a move that puts the entire blame on the then Chief
Minister B C Khanduri.

PTI

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