Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its audit report tabled in Gujarat Assembly on Friday observed undue favours made by the Gujarat Government to industrial houses in the state.

The CAG reports citing irregularities to the tune hundreds of crores, stated that companies such as Reliance Petroleum, Essar Power and Adani Group got undue favours from the state government.

A daily newspaper, quoting CAG said that, non-monitoring "of the construction quay in phase 1 of Adani Group-owned Mundra port led to short recovery of Rs 118.12 crore."

The state government-run Gujarat Maritime Board handed an "undue favour" to Reliance Petroleum Ltd (RPL) by allowing it to pay only half the stipulated port fees, which led to a loss of Rs 649.29 crore, a report of Comptroller and Auditor General of India has said.

As per the report, GMB entered into an agreement with RPL in July 1999 to allow the petroleum giant to build its own captive jetty in Sikka near Jamnagar, for its liquid and gas cargo.

According to CAG, the cost of construction of the jetty was Rs 362.01 crore. As per the agreement and the government policy to encourage private players, GMB allowed a 50 per cent rebate on the stipulated wharfage (port fees) at the rate of Rs 36 per metric tonne to RPL till construction cost was recovered.

RPL paid Rs 18 per MT of cargo handled at it jetty after it commenced the operations in 1999. However, according to CAG, even after RPL recovered the cost of construction in January 2006, GMB allowed RPL to pay at the same rate.

In June 2010, RPL added Rs 138.92 crore to the original cost of construction, taking it to Rs 452.51, claimed CAG. So, GMB allowed RPL to pay at the concessional rate till March 2012, CAG said.

CAG concluded that erroneous calculation by GMB in determining full wharfage and actual set-off "led to short recovery of wharfage charges of Rs 649.29 crore as undue favour to RPL".

The state-run Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) passed on "undue benefit" of Rs 587.50 crore to Essar Power by allowing it to change the delivery point of transmission of power to GETCO from its plant, the CAG report said.

The CAG also pointed out several "irregularities" and "mismanagement" on the part of GUVNL, purchase of power at a high cost, deviation from standard bidding procedures, payment of incentives in contravention to statutory notifications, loss due to non-adherence of provisions in PPA, award of solar power projects to ineligible bidders and excess capacity creation under solar power.

With PTI Inputs