YTPS delay caused Rs 2,500-crore power burden: CAG

Electricity companies in Karnataka spent an "avoidable" Rs 2,517 crore to purchase power from the private sector because of the government’s delay in completing the Yeramarus Thermal Power Station (YTPS), according to the latest Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) report.

The 1,600-MW capacity YTPS was an ambitious project that was conceived to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of power in the state. The implementation of the YTPS was through a joint venture with the Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd and BHEL.

The CAG report, which was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, has spilled the beans on how the YTPS project was mired in glitches.

The project saw its inception in 2007 and was to be completed by April/October 2014. It was declared ready for commercial operations in March/April 2017 after a delay of three years, the CAG noted. “Even as on date, the plant is unable to run at its full capacity due to non-completion of ancillary units,” the audit found.

"A total of 23,188.86 million units of power, in the form of short and medium-term power valued at Rs 11,079.22 crore, was purchased during this period. Out of this, the additional cost on the purchase of 22,283.03 million units from private producers amounting to Rs 2,517.92 crore could have been avoided during the last four years (2014-15 and 2017-18) had the company completed the implementation of the project within the stipulated time,” the CAG said.

Plus, the delay in completing the YTPS resulted in the project cost going up from the estimated Rs 8,806.23 crore in April 2009 to Rs 12,915.90 crore as of March 2018, the report stated.

The CAG also found “changes in designs and delay in finalisation of designs of the major items of work, apart from deficiencies in tendering and award of these works” as reasons for the non-completion of the YTPS within the stipulated time.

BMTC depot in eco zone

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) constructed a bus depot costing Rs 6.92 crore and operated it in an ecologically-sensitive area in violation of environmental laws, the CAG said. The depot is located on a 13.4-acre land at Dasanapura Hobli in Bengaluru North taluk, which was purchased in January 2008. When the BMTC sought a permit to operate a diesel generator, it was found that the depot was located in Zone-4 of the Thippagondanahalli Reservoir.