In a confidential communication to 11 Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), the government has asked the chief vigilance officers (CVOs) to look into any form of ‘undue influence’ that could have been exercised by Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa during his tenure in the Ministry of Power from September 2009 to December 2013.
Dated 29 August and issued “with the approval” of the Power Secretary to the CVOs of the PSUs, the letter states –
“It has been alleged that Shri Ashok Lavasa, IAS during his tenure in the Ministry of Power from September 2009 to December 2013 as JS/Additional Secretary/Special Secretary used his official position to exercise undue influence to benefit few companies/associate companies.”As reported by The Indian Express.
In Detail
Among the PSUs that have received the communication include:
- National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)
- Erstwhile National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC)
- Formerly Rural Electrification Corporation (REC)
- Power Finance Corporation (PFC)
The CVOs of these PSUs have been asked to ‘verify the records’ to see if any evidence shows Lavasa’s influence to secure benefits from the companies/associated companies to whom projects were awarded, reported The Indian Express.
As an annexure in the letter, names of 14 companies were attached, where Lavasa’s wife, Novel Lavasa served as the director. All these companies were involved in the power and renewable energy sector.
The letter also has a list of 135 projects that were awarded to the companies under A2Z group by various PSUs and state governments. It has details of a payment amounting to almost Rs 45.8 Lakhs that was received by Novel Lavasa.
Attached with this, is also a list of 13 projects that was awarded to A2Z Waste Management Limited during Lavasa’s posting in the Power Ministry.
However Lavasa says that he is unaware of any such letter and thus has no comments to make, according to The Indian Express.
(With Inputs from The Indian Express)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)