APHC suspends pre-closure order of APGenco in Polavaram project

Amaravati: In a major setback to the government, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday suspended the state Power Generation Corporation's pre-closure orders to Navayuga Engineering Company on a hydroelectric power station which is part of the Polavaram project and stayed the reverse tendering process, initiated by the state government, for the hydroelectric project and the dam head works.

Justice D V S S Somayajulu issued interim orders to this effect on a petition filed by Navayuga, challenging the AP Genco's pre-closure order. On August 1, the Jagan Mohan Reddy government decided to terminate the contract awarded to Navayuga for execution of the Polavaram dam head works.

On August 14, the AP Genco issued the pre-closure order to Navayuga on the hydroelectric project, citing lack of progress in works. The state government issued a 'reverse tender' last week, inviting fresh bids for the hydro power station and the Polavaram head works.

Navayuga challenged Genco's order, related only to the hydro power station, contending that as per the contract, it has time till November 2021 to complete the project.

After hearing arguments of the petitioner and the state government, Justice Somayajulu issued interim orders, suspending Genco's pre-closure order. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) dubbed the high court order as a slap on the face of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Reacting to the order, Leader of the Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu said cancellation of tenders would have a severe impact on the progress of the Polavaram project as a whole and cause inordinate delay in execution.

"What will the government say to this now? Despite the Centre's warning, the state government is not appreciating the reality. We have been cautioning against indiscriminate actions too," the former chief minister told reporters in an informal chat here.