Centre urged to release funds for 3 thermal power stations in Telangana

Hyderabad: Union Minister of Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey sought his Cabinet colleague and Union Power Minister RK Singh’s intervention for advising its funding agencies – Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and Power Finance Corporation (PFC) to release funds for ensuring continuation of works taken up by Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL) in Telangana. In a […]

Hyderabad: Union Minister of Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey sought his Cabinet colleague and Union Power Minister RK Singh’s intervention for advising its funding agencies – Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and Power Finance Corporation (PFC) to release funds for ensuring continuation of works taken up by Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL) in Telangana.

In a letter to Singh, Pandey said the BHEL, a maharatna public sector enterprise under Ministry of Heavy Industries, has been awarded contracts worth Rs 30,000 crore by TSGenco for 5×800 MW Yadadri thermal power station (TPS), 4×270 MW Bhadradri TPS and 800 MW Kothagudem TPS including FGD packages for these projects.

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He said of-late payments against the bills presented by the BHEL for these projects have been quite intermittent. TSGenco has cited non-release of funds by financing institutions REC and PFC as a prime reason for the same. As on date, BHEL’s bills worth Rs.705 crore were outstanding out of which bills worth Rs.44 crore were duly processed and waiting for funds.

Only Rs 175 crore has been received by BHEL from TSGenco during the current financial year.

More than 10,000 workers are working at three TPS projects and regular payments to vendors and subcontractors was a prerequisite for maintaining momentum of work at the sites. Projects of such magnitude require cash flow of at least Rs.250 crore to Rs.300 crore per month and non release of funds may adversely impact the corresponding payment to vendors and sub-contractors engaged by BHEL for the projects.

This may have a cascading effect on the progress of the projects. Pandey requested Singh’s intervention to advise the funding agencies to honour their commitments for funding the projects so that the corresponding payments to vendors and sub-contractors and MSMEs associated with the projects were not adversely affected.

“Timely release of funds will help in expeditious completion of these important infrastructure projects to meet the ever growing power requirement of the country,” Pandey said.