BHUBANESWAR: In a major relief to the State Government, the Odisha High Court has rejected a PIL challenging the tender notification of the Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC) for setting up two more units of 660 MW each. ‘’The petitioner has not made out a prima facie case that public interest will be affected in not following the guidelines of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA),’’ the High Court order said. In its October 25 order, a Division Bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice V Gopalagowda and Justice BN Mohapatra said, ‘’No material facts are stated or documents produced to substantiate the plea that there would be loss of Rs 300 crore to the opposite party (OPGC) in not following the CEA guidelines.’’ The CEA guidelines to the State Government or the generating companies are only advisory in nature and not binding, the order said. The writ petition was filed on the basis of surmises and publication of items in newspapers. The petitioner has not disclosed or substantiated how by not following the CEA guidelines and not allowing the consortium to participate in the tender process will cause Rs 300 crore loss to the State or OPGC, the order said. ‘’The petitioner is not entitled for grant of interim order,’’ the Bench said while rejecting the PIL. Alleging that OPGC had violated the CEA guideline by not allowing consortium and restricting the bid to individuals, petitioner Kailash Chandra Gupta of Dhamnagar in Bhadrak district urged the HC to stay the operation of the bidding process. ‘’The petitioner has approached this court after two and a half months of issuance of the tender notification. If the petitioner is really interested in espousing the public cause, he could have immediately approached this court,’’ the order said. The HC order vindicates the OPGC contention and this will act as a strong deterrent to the vested interests who are trying to derail the expansion plan, said a senior executive of the State-owned corporation. The expansion plan of OPGC, a joint venture between the State Government and AES Corporation, has witnessed considerable delay on various counts, including statutory clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests for the coal blocks. The company has already received techno-commercial bid for supply of boiler, turbine and generator (BTG) package from four premier equipment manufacturers, including BHEL.
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