Vijayawada: The govt told the high court on Wednesday that it needs to review the counter affidavit filed in the PIL petitions challenging the MoU with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for purchase of 7,000 MW of power at Rs 2.49 per unit. The govt urged the court to allow it to add additional details if required.
CPI state secretary K Ramakrishna, and finance minister Payyavula Keshav moved the high court with separate petitions challenging the MoU made with SECI during YSRCP regime. Arguing on behalf of the petitioners, senior counsel B Adinarayana Rao said the bribery allegations surfaced in the USA during court proceedings pertaining to the MoU under challenge, sparking a debate. Even the Parliament is on the boil over the same issue. He stated that SECI offered to sell solar power at Rs 2.49 per unit to AP, while offering the same at Rs 1.99 to Gujarat.
He argued that the price should be derived through competitive bidding by inviting tenders as per the Electricity Act, but this was not done. Rao further argued that the state govt is purchasing solar power generated in Rajasthan, which will result in huge transmission losses and additional charges. If the same plant is set up in AP and the power is procured locally, the price will further decrease, besides creating employment opportunities for local youth.
Responding on behalf of the state govt, advocate general Dammalapati Srinivas sought two weeks to review the counter affidavit filed by the state govt and requested permission to add additional details if required. Considering his request, the HC bench headed by Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Ravi Cheemalapati posted the matter for further hearing to the last week of Jan 2025.
