Kiru hydropower corruption case: CBI files charge sheet against Satya Pal Malik

Jammu, May 22 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday filed a charge sheet against former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik and five others in the Kiru hydroelectric power project kickbacks case.

In 2022, the Jammu and Kashmir government requested a CBI investigation into the alleged corruption in the allotment of a Rs 2,200 crore contract for civil works in the Kiru hydroelectric power project.

In 2024, the CBI carried out searches at eight locations in Delhi and Jammu.

Interestingly, the concern of kickbacks in the allotment of this contract was raised by Malik himself when he was the Jammu and Kashmir Governor from August 23, 2018 to October 30, 2019.

Malik then alleged that he had been offered a bribe of Rs 300 crore to approve two files, one of which pertained to the Kiru hydroelectric power project, but he had refused to accept it.

The award of civil works to Patel Engineering Ltd, a major infrastructure and construction company that was founded in 1949, has been called into question.

The CBI booked then Chenab Valley Power Projects Private Limited (CVPPPL) Chairman, MD and Directors, along with Patel Engineering.

The FIR said an investigation had been conducted by the Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Power Department and it was found that guidelines for e-tendering in the awarding of civil works in the project were not followed.

Further, allegations of substandard work and failure to provide jobs to local youth have been made against the hydel project.

Kiru hydroelectric power project is a run-of-the-river scheme being developed over the Chenab River in the Kishtwar Tehsil of Kishtwar district in J&K. The project is being constructed between Kirthai II (upstream) and Kwar (downstream) hydroelectric plants.

The project is being developed by Chenab Valley Power Projects, a joint venture between the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC, 49 per cent), the Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDC, 49 per cent), and the Power Trading Corporation (PTC, 2 per cent).

It is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 4,287 crore for an installed capacity of 624 MW. It was awarded scoping clearance by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in 2008.

Environment clearance was issued in 2016, and the project received approval from the State Administrative Council (SAC) in 2019.

The foundation stone for the hydroelectric power plant was laid in 2019, while the deadline for initiating commercial operations is July 2025.

--IANS

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