Telangana govt appoints former SC judge Lokur as head of panel to probe 'irregularities' in power sector during BRS regime

Hyderabad: The Telangana government on Tuesday appointed Supreme Court former judge Justice (retired) Madan B Lokur as the head of the inquiry commission to probe into the alleged irregularities in the power sector during the BRS regime.

Following the Supreme Court's recent objection, the Telangana government agreed to change the chairman of the inquiry commission, after which the then chairman, Justice (retired), L Narasimha Reddy, resigned.

On Tuesday, the Telangana government issued orders appointing Justice Lokur as the new chairman of the inquiry commission. Narasimha Reddy resigned after the Supreme Court's observations, which had previously disapproved of holding a press conference about the investigation.

Finding fault with the Telangana government appointing the commission, BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao approached the Supreme Court, seeking to cancel the commission. KCR approached the Supreme Court after the Telangana High Court dismissed his challenge on July 2.

The Revanth Reddy government on March 14 constituted a one-man judicial commission led by Justice Narasimha Reddy under the Commission of Inquiries Act, 1952. The commission was tasked with probing the alleged irregularities in the power sector, including power purchase agreements signed during the BRS regime between 2014 and 2023.

Opposition is trying to distort SC directions, says Revanth

During the debate on the power sector in the ongoing assembly sessions, chief minister A Revanth Reddy alleged on Monday that the opposition was trying to distort the Supreme Court directions on the Commission of Inquiry on power agreements. The opposition approached the court, demanding the cancellation of the commission.

“The Supreme Court made it clear that abolishing the commission was not possible. The SC rejected KCR's plea. In 2015, the Bhadradri Power Project commenced, with an estimated cost of Rs 7,290 crore. The project should have been completed in 2017. It was completed in 2022. The project's cost has escalated to Rs 10,515 crore. It costs Rs 9.73 crore per megawatt produced by Bhadradri. The Yadadri project was started with an estimated cost of Rs 25,000 crore. The project was supposed to be completed by 2020. The project is still pending. The estimated cost increased to Rs 34,548 crore. It is likely to increase to Rs 40,000 crore in the future. The increased estimates of around Rs 10,000 crore went into pockets of opposition,” he said.