Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

MERC clubs Prayas, Hogade suits

Renni Abraham

The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission has clubbed together the petitions filed by Prayas -- an NGO -- and senior Janata Dal leader Pratap Hogade, which sought the copies of the power purchase agreements and other associated documents of the Dabhol Power Co, Patalganga and Bhadrawati power projects.

The two petitions have additionally provided the opportunity to test the effectiveness or otherwise of the Maharashtra Right to Information Act, 2000.

The MERC members on their part are keen to ensure that the much sought after transparency, since the act was passed by the state legislature, actually translates into a reality.

Chairman of MERC P Subramaniam, during the last hearing on the issue of DPC documents being made available to Prayas berated the Maharashtra State Electricity Board for issuing conflicting statements in connection with the financing agreement for phase II of the project as also being unable to backup with legal reasoning how it could withhold the documents sought by Prayas.

He subsequently directed MSEB to issue all the documents related to DPC to the commission within a month, and granted two weeks time for the release of documents sought by Prayas.

A senior MERC official told Business Standard, "While initially MSEB said that it was not in possession of the documents, it later told the commission that the documents were in fact available with it but not the detailed document."

The commission also found it peculiar that MSEB had chosen to merely reiterate the legal submission made by DPC with regards to the confidentiality attached to certain key documents instead of employing the services of the large in-house legal department.

According to a senior government official, while the Reliance-promoted Patalganga project and Ispat-promoted Bhadrawati projects are yet to achieve financial closure, the petitions before MERC would serve as the touchstone ruling for deciding upon the issue of public access to information.

Both MSEB and DPC as well as the Reliance and Ispat groups would have to explain how they could withhold the documents sought by the common public under the provisions of the Act.

The Maharashtra Right to Information Act, 2000, clearly stipulates, "Every bonafide person requiring information may have access to such information in accordance with the procedure specified under this act."

The criteria for denying information is also specified under the act where it would prejudice the security, integrity or sovereignty of the nation or the state, information relating to defence matters.

However, according to well placed sources in the MSEB, its legal department has taken the provisions of the act through a fine comb to find grounds for justifying the withholding of the documents sought by Prayas.

A senior MSEB official said, "For instance, one of the criterion for denying information as stated in the act says that it is permitted if the disclosure would prejudice negotiations or the effective conduct of personnel management or commercial or contractual activities. It also notes if the information disclosure would harm the competitive position of a third party or if the information has been supplied in confidence under a statutory guarantee that its confidentiality would be protected, the act would not apply."

Powered by

YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO READ:
The Rediff-Business Standard Special
The Budget 2001-2002 Special
Money
Business News

Tell us what you think of this report