Commission will Take Legal Opinion on KCR’s Reply, Says Justice Narasimha Reddy

Hyderabad: Justice Narasimha Reddy, who is inquiring into alleged irregularities in power purchase agreements during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government, said that the commission had received a letter from former chief minister and BRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao and the contents of the letter needs to be discussed with the experts.

Speaking to media persons, Justice Narasimha Reddy said that the commission had already started studying the contents of the letter. He had already in the past said that Chandrashekhar Rao would be summoned to personally appear before the commission, if it is not satisfied with the reply.

Giving details about the contents of the letter, Justice Narasimha Reddy said that Chandrashekhar Rao had given some details about the power purchase agreement with Chhattisgarh and some issues related to setting up of Bhadradri and Yadadri Thermal Power Plants.

Stating that anyone can express his opinion, Justice Narasimha Reddy said he directed his team to review the legal points raised by Chandrashekhar Rao in his letter with a legal team.

The commission will assess the details given by Chandrashekhar Rao and other facts that it may likely to come to know in the coming days. The representatives from BHREL will also be asked to present their facts before the commission.

Divulging more details of the BRS chief’s letter, former minister G. Jagadeesh Reddy said Chandrashekhar Rao had expressed doubts over the role of the commission by stating that the commission lost its sanctity, though they have full respect for its chairman L. Narasimha Reddy,

“Justice Narasimha Reddy is known to be a supporter of Telangana. But he had publicly aired the views expressed by Congress and BJP leaders before the commission, even before the Commission concluded its hearing. The Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) is an independent commission and the verdict given by it is the final,” he said.

Jagdeesh Reddy said the Justice Narasimha Reddy Commission must quit as the ERC had already made its observations.

He said the BRS government had made an agreement with all public sector units and no private body is involved in these deals. “The states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have purchased power at a higher rate than Telangana. Telangana has purchased at Rs 3.90 per unit. The power plants in Ramagundam, Bhupalpally, Kothagudem and Vijayawada have been using the subcritical technology to generate power. The deal with BHEL was made in a transparent manner,” he said.

He said that the Yadadri Thermal Power Plant was set up at Damaracherla to develop Nalgonda district. Though Vijayawada and Kadapa towns have no coal resources nearby, the thermal plants have been set up in these places, he pointed out.