POWER PACKED: Court dismisses State’s appeal against Reliance Infra

PANJIM: In a setback to the State, the District and Sessions Court, Panjim, on Thursday dismissed the State’s application challenging the Arbitration Tribunal order asking the government to pay Rs 292 cr dues to Reliance Infrastructure for supply of power. 

Advocate General Devidas Pangam confirmed the development and told Herald, “Yes, the District Court has dismissed our petition but we have not got the order yet.”

He added, “The State has been granted six days stay on the order allowing us time to appeal in a higher court,” he said. Pangam said the State will prepare a stronger petition in the High Court.

Power Minister Nilesh Cabral said this will definitely dent the State’s coffers but his department will file an appeal. “It is a big setback. We have no option but to fight in court,” he said.    

Reliance Infrastructure, the Anil Ambani-led company, had won an arbitration award of Rs 292 crore against the Government of Goa in a case relating to non-payment of dues for electricity supplied by the former.

The matter went into arbitration when Goa delayed payments to Reliance Infrastructure for power supplied from its 48 megawatt Goa Power Plant in Sancoale.

The tribunal, on February 16, 2018 ordered the State to pay Rs 292 crore to Reliance Infrastructure by April 15. It had also ordered payment of interest at 15 per cent per annum on the total award amount if Goa failed to pay the entire award amount by the deadline.

The company had then said that the total outstanding dues, along with interest as on October 31, 2017 amounts to Rs 278 crore. The tribunal has also awarded Reliance Infrastructure interest from October 2017 till the date of the award, which would be another Rs 14 crore.

Reliance Infrastructure had argued that the rate of energy for the period from June 2013 to August 2014 was based on varying prices of fuel and dollar exchange rate as was agreed by the Goa government, which was upheld by the tribunal.

“The contention of Goa government that the rated capacity of the plant was to be downrated, right from the second year of operation, for calculation of fixed charges since the parties had already agreed against downrating in 2007, was rejected by the tribunal,” Reliance Infra had said.