Maha will not pay Rs 2,200 cr dues claimed by RGPPL: CM

Maharashtra will not pay Rs 2200 crore dues claimed by Ratnagiri Gas and Power RGPPL but is ready to allow the company to sell its power from Dabhol plant to others Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said todayIt has been our stand that we will not pay the Rs 2200 crore dues claimed by RGPPL We have however decided to communicate to them that if they want to sell the power to others we will give our consent to them Fadnavis told reporters after a review meeting here with the officials of the company Union minister Piyush Goyal and bankersRGPPL a joint venture between GAIL and NTPC shut the 1967 MW Dabhol power plant on account of severe gas shortage The company had signed a longterm Power Purchase Agreement PPA with the state utility Mahavitaran to supply power at Rs 330 per unitAs per the agreement if the company had to change its source of fuel they were required to take our consent However they did not do that and the cost of power escalated to Rs 550 per unit Our intention is clear we will not purchase power at this high cost because after all we will have to pass on the burden to our consumers which we dont want to do he saidHowever he said if the state receives assurance of getting the fuel gas at the predecided rates for the next three years there are chances of its revival If we are assured of getting gas at the predetermined rates at the time of the PPA there are chances of its revivalAlso the LNG terminal being developed by GAIL can generate revenues to the tune of Rs 1200 crore for RGPPL which is operating the terminal he said The Centre now needs to formulate a plan to this effect after taking into account the views of all the stakeholders said FadnavisAsked whether the government had received proposals for privatisation of Dabhol plant he said So far we have not received any such proposal Selling the project is also not on the cards Unless there is ensured fuel no one will come to buy the projectWe believe this project should be revived as it is a national asset Last month Union Coal Minister Piyush Goyal had said the Centre was open to options of privatisation of the plant GAIL and NTPC hold 329 per cent each in RGPPL while Maharashtra has 174 per cent stakeBanks including SBI ICICI Bank IDBI and Canara Bank which hold 168 per cent stake in the company have a cumulative exposure of Rs 8500 crore in the project The project has been facing difficulty due to nonavailability of gas and dues to banks are not being paid by the company on time