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Maharashtra seeks centre's support for renegotiations on Enron

The Maharashtra government on Monday favoured review of the power purchase agreement with US energy giant Enron-promoted Dabhol Power Company in the face of high cost of power and is seeking central government support for renegotiations.

"We want renegotiations and for this we are seeking the Centre's support," Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who met Power Minister Suresh Prabhu, said.

Deshmukh would make out a case for review of the agreement with DPC when he meets Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha in the evening.

Deshmukh was accompanied by National Congress Party President Sharad Pawar.

He said that state government had accepted the Godbole Committee report, commissioned to suggest ways to resolve the crisis arising out of Enron invoking Centre's counter guarantee and slapping an arbitration case on Maharshtra State Electrcity Board.

All the four parties namely the state, Union government, Enron and MSEB should come together for negotiations, otherwise it cannot be a complete exercise, he added.

Deshmukh's meeting with the Centre comes at a crucial stage as DPC's lenders would be meeting in London, to decide upon the future finances of the controversy marred 2,184-mw project in Dabhol.

DPC has already slapped one conciliation notice on the Centre and three arbitration notices on the state government over non-payment of dues amounting to Rs 2.13 billion plus interest towards the bills due for the months of December 2000 and January 2001.

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