'Revanna's charges baseless'

Eshwarappa says he is ready for inquiry if need arises

 
Refuting the allegations, Eshwarappa challenged Revanna to table the complaints. He added that he was open for a discussion in the presence of Chief Minister and would not back down from an inquiry if the need arose.

Revanna had alleged that the department misappropriated funds to the tune of Rs 400 to 500 crore while buying power. Addressing the media, Eshwarappa said that the State government bought power at rates lesser than the prevailing rates at energy exchanges.

1,663.26 million units

Eshwarappa revealed that the government had bought a total of 1,663.26 million units at an average of Rs 6.79 per unit of power from January to May this year, which amounted to Rs 2,447.26 crore.

The total power purchased for the year beginning from April 8 to May 9 amounted to 3,025.14 million units.

Further, Eshwarappa accepted that the Escoms in the State were under loss, but blamed previous governments for the situation. He said, “If previous governments had been efficient, then the current situation of having to buy power from other states would not have arisen.”