The Delhi government and Reliance Power are likely to pay an amount of `500 crores each as bailout for the leading private discom BSES. Sources confirmed that a bank loan of `5,000 crore is likely to be approved but the partners Reliance Energy and Delhi government will have to pay 20 per cent of the amount to get the loan.
“If the discom gets this package then both partners, Reliance energy and Delhi government, will have to pay their shares. Both of them are in a 51-49 per cent partnership so both of them have to pay around `500 crore,” said a Delhi government official.
Earlier the NTPC issued notice to BSES Rajdhani and BSES Yamuna Power Limited to clear their outstanding for continuation of power supply.
Meanwhile, the Delhi BJP has slammed the city government on this development.
The BJP leaders alleged that the city government is planning to spend people’s money to bailout private discoms.
“This money belongs to the people and should be put to use in making their lives better and easier in these hard times instead of being used to help profitable industrial houses,” Leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly Prof. Vijay Kumar Malhotra said.
Prof. Malhotra said that the BJP has been demanding investigation into the `12,500 crore scam in the power privatisation process, but due to the close linkages between the government and private companies, chief minister Sheila Dikshit has been successful in blocking the opposition’s attempts.
“Serious allegations of impropriety in the power privatisation process were raised not only by the CAG but also by the Public Accounts Committee of the Vidhan Sabha which recommended a CBI enquiry into the entire matter, but which the chief minister of Delhi did not allow,” Prof. Malhotra added.