Coming out with another startling revelation, Arun Dhumal, younger son of former Chief Minister PK Dhumal, on Thursday alleged that Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had used a letter of retired officer in 2007 to re-allot the 15MW hydro power project to his industrialist ‘friend’ Vakamulla Chandrashekhar.

With the revelation, the controversial 15 MW Sai Kothi project allotted to Venture Energy and Technologies ltd (VETl) owned by Vakamulla Chandrashekhar who has given unsecured loan of Rs3.90 crore to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his parliamentarian wife Pratibha Singh has once again landed into fresh controversy. Dhumal junior produced the document which suggested that a letter written by KK Vaidya, chief engineer of Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board ltd (HPSEBl) in 2005, was used by the Government to re-allot the controversial hydro electric project to VETl on February 8, 2007 after the proposal was cancelled thrice by the State Cabinet.

Incidentally, Vaidya had retired on October 31, 2005 and before retiring had written a letter to the then additional power secretary (power) to consider re-allotment of project to the VETl, citing several reasons like company’s record of achieving all milestones and regret of omission and commission.

Vaidya was asked by the State Government to offer his comments on VETl and the Sai Kothi project in February 2005 and the Cabinet has detected several anomalies like tempering of records. Ironically, the then Cabinet had in 2005 rejected the recommendation of Vaidya but the recommendation letter was again considered in 2007 by an emergent cabinet meet and the project was re-allotted to the company.

When contacted, Vaidya said that he has now retired and has nothing to say on the matter but said that he has come to know that the recommendation note he had written in 2005 and was then rejected by the Cabinet was again reconsidered in 2007.

“Is this not a contempt of court, when State Government is itself submitting an affidavit in the High Court saying that the project has been

cancelled on merit basis and the project has been allotted to HPSEBl and then again re-allotting the project to same company,” asked Arun Dhumal.

He demanded that State Government should come out with white paper on the project and court should take suo motu cognisance of the matter as it is contempt of court.

The BJP chief whip Suresh Bhardwaj said that party in its chargesheet has mentioned the anomalies committed by Virbhadra Singh Government in allotting the project to favoured firm and now request the Governor to order for CBI inquiry into the case.