MSEB suspends 11 officials on corruption charges

Mumbai, Dec 17 (UNI) The Maharahstra State Electricity Board (MSEB) today placed eleven of its officials under suspension and eight others on notice after the vigilance department found them guilty on various charges of irregularity.

Announcing the development here, MSEB Managing Director, Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey told mediapersons that action against all the guilty officials was in accordance with the departmental norms after the vigilance department submited its report.

He said a total of eleven officals from Latur, Osmanabad and Kolhapur circles have been placed under suspension, after the vigilance department found prima facie evidence against them in the 1997-Asian Electronics capacitor's scam.

Admitting there was delay in taking action, Dr Pandey said that departmental and vigilance enquiry will be expanded to a wider area to cover issues of delay, invovlement of higher ups and the amount of loss the MSEB incurred.

He also said that MSEB had contacted the Indian Instite of Technology (IIT), Powai to conduct a third party evaluation on the installed capacitor' to ascertain the amount of loss and malfunctioning capacitor'.

Dismissing reports of discontent and an impending strike by employees against the recent suspensions, he said, ''I assure all the employees of MSEB that action will be intiated only against the errant workers and there is no prejudice in this observation.'' In 1997, MSEB had given a contract of Rs 325 crore to Asian Electronics to install 35,000 capacitors across the State.

Subseqently, complaint about malfunctioning capacitors began pouring from various parts of the State. In 2003, the vigilance department, on the basis of a complaint from a local MLA, began an enquiry in the Latur, Osmanabad circle and found several capacitors not working.

Later, the enquiry was extended to Kolhapur. As a result, eleven officials found guilty in the investigations have been suspended. A total of Rs 207 crores had been paid by MSEB to Asian electronics till 2005, while the rest of the payment has been blocked pending investigations.

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