Centre changed policy to ensure Bihar's power plant project goes to a particular firm: Pawan Khera
Patna (PTI): The Congress on Friday accused the Centre of changing its SHAKTI policy to ensure that a power plant project in Bihar's Bhagalpur district goes to a particular private firm close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The solar power project was converted into a thermal project, and the group has been given 1,050 acres of land at the rate of Re one per acre, chairman of the party's Media & Publicity wing, Pawan Khera, claimed in a press conference here.
"Senior BJP leader RK Singh, who served as a minister in the Modi government for 10 years, is saying the project is a scam worth Rs 62,000 crore. According to him, the firm will earn Rs 25,000 crore every year from this project," Khera said.
"Changes were made to the SHAKTI policy to ensure that the power project plant in Bhagalpur's Pirpainti goes to a particular firm. These changes were made directly at the level of the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi," Khera alleged.
The SHAKTI (Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala Transparently in India) policy of 2017, formulated to transparently allocate coal to the power sector, was revised earlier this year to provide "greater flexibility, wider eligibility and better accessibility to coal", according to PIB release of July 28.
"We are also asking from the Central government: why did the Ministry of Energy of the Government of India revise the Bihar government's feasibility report to convert a solar project into a thermal project just to favour a particular group close to the PM," Khera said.
Won't this change have a negative impact on Bihar's Renewable Purchase Obligation, he asked.
The Congress leader also wondered why, despite the absence of coal linkage, was a thermal power plant under Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) given under the provisions of SHAKTI policy.
He asked if issuing a tender without finalising details is not violation of rules.
Besides, Khera said, when this project was to be given to a private firm, why a budget of Rs 21,000 crore was allocated for it in the central budget.
He alleged that the tender for the thermal project was issued without approval of the use Ganga river water, and the Bihar government spent Rs 58 crore on this project before it was floated.
Besides, no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and cost-benefit analysis were conducted for this project, he claimed.
Despite opposition of the several engineers and experts for the Pirpainti project, it was handed over to the favoured group, the Congress leader said.
The group has been given 1,050 acres of land at the rate of one rupee per acre, he said.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
