& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

MEGHNAGHAT-3 PROJECT

Ministry now seeks PM's opinion on unsolicited deal

SHARIER KHAN
The power ministry has backtracked on seeking the law ministry's opinion to justify the unsolicited Meghnaghat-3 power project deal, violating government policy, and is now turning to the prime minister for her guidance and directive.
Side by side, it has prepared a proposal for the cabinet purchase committee's approval for the project.
Due to lack of policy support, the power ministry last week wrote a letter seeking the law ministry's opinion whether an exception could be made about the Meghnaghat-3 project.
Late last month, the state minister for power had committed to parliamentarians to process the project through open tender. But on Saturday, he claimed to The Daily Star that he did not make such a commitment.
Following press reports on its move, the power ministry on Saturday postponed sending the letter to the law ministry. Instead, it drafted a letter to the PM describing the policy crisis over the project.
The letter says that on April 25, the 29th meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on power, energy and mineral resources ministry took a resolution on the Meghnaghat-3 project.
The meeting resolved that the move to award the Meghnaghat 500 megawatt power project to Cadogan Manning Group through negotiation will seriously tarnish the transparency of the present democratic government.
The meeting unanimously
resolved that this project should be implemented through international tender instead of unsolicited negotiation. The power ministry should take initiatives in this regard and inform the standing committee before its next meeting, the letter said, seeking the PM's decision in this regard.
On March 24, the Cadogan Manning Group submitted a proposal for a 500 mw (or 450 mw) combined cycle power plant. The developers will start generating 360 mw power through simple cycle operation from November 30, 2006 and go for full operation in January-March, 2007.
The power ministry plans to sign the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Cadogan Manning on May 15. In March, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia okayed the project in principle, saying it should be implemented as per the 'existing policy' immediately.
The country's Private Power Policy does not allow unsolicited bids. In case there is any unsolicited negotiation over an attractive offer, the policy dictates that the government will have to seek matching offers from other interested parties through open tender. If there is a better offer, the first company will be asked to match that offer. If it fails to do so, the better offer will be accepted.
This policy, adopted in 1996, so far allowed different power plants with 1,290mw capacity through 'solicitation'. Unsolicited bids on the other hand can give way to gross corruption and unfair terms for the nation.
The Cadogan Manning proposal, being processed by the Power Cell, is flawed in several areas including power tariff and conditional bid bond.
Some powerful officials at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), who are backing the unsolicited deal, have hammered the firing of the Power Cell director general and transfer of its technical director. Both had angered these officials by giving fair opinion on the shady negotiation.
The Cadogan Manning bid is being pushed by some businessmen close to the 'alternative centre of power', sources pointed out.