Chennithala alleges ₹56 crore loss to KSEB over delay in takeover of Maniyar hydel project

Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged that the state government and the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) enabled private firm Carborundum Universal to make “illegal profits worth crores” by allowing it to continue operating the Maniyar hydroelectric project for 14 months after the expiry of its contract.

Chennithala said the agreement for the project ended on December 31, 2024, after which ownership of the hydel project should have been transferred to KSEB.

However, instead of taking over the project, the government allegedly permitted the company to continue generating and selling electricity from the plant for another 14 months, causing a loss of ₹56 crore to KSEB, he claimed.

According to Chennithala, the company has been in “illegal possession” of the Maniyar hydroelectric project during this period and has been generating electricity on a large scale to sell to private companies at higher rates.

He alleged that once the contract with KSEB expired, the company gained the freedom to sell power generated from the project to any buyer. “The cost of power generation at the plant is below 40 paise per unit. The company has been making huge profits by selling power at ₹10 to ₹14 per unit during peak hours,” Chennithala claimed.

He further alleged that while Kerala was facing a power shortage, the private company was profiting from low-cost power generation.

The Maniyar project has an installed capacity of 12 MW, which can generate around 12,000 units of electricity per hour, he said. “If the project had been under KSEB’s control, electricity could have been generated at just 40 paise per unit. That benefit has been lost to the state,” Chennithala added.

Though the government had issued an order to take back the project in view of Kerala’s difficult power situation, KSEB has so far failed to assume control, he alleged.

Calling the issue “daylight robbery,” Chennithala accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty, and KSEB of facilitating the alleged irregularity. He demanded a high-level inquiry into the delay in reclaiming the project and strict action against those responsible.