08 September 2011
Raghunathpur thermal plant hits major roadblock
V K Gupta

Enquiry committee has found cooling tower of unit 1 of Raghunathpur thermal as unsafe as the sub contractor was found indulging in fraudulent activities.

THE ENQUIRY committee looking in to the lapses in construction of the cooling tower of unit 1 of Raghunathpur Thermal plant by EPC contractor Reliance Infrastructure has found that the structure is unsafe with no remedial measure. As per RTI information obtained, a five member committee was constituted by Damodar Valley Corporation on February 28 2011 to review the structural stability of cooling Tower of 600 MW unit 1 of thermal power station. The representatives of CEA, BHEL, Tata Consultancy Services and DVC were part of the committee.

The committee was asked to review the stability of cooling tower with lesser reinforcement between 32nd to 35th lift of RCC shell in both phases and in both meridional and circumferential directions with respect to technical specifications. It was alleged that the Paharpur Cooling Towers Limited, sub contractor of Reliance Infrastructure used lesser steel quantity around 20 percent in between lift number 32 to 35. According to sources, the enquiry committee concluded in third week of July that the complete structure is unsafe and no remedial measures can be taken. The fraud in construction of cooling tower by way of deployment of lesser quantity of steel is beyond remedy because after concreting is done, it is not practically possible to add or insert additional quantity of steel reinforcement in the structure (shell) of the cooling tower.

The work of thermal plant was given to Reliance Infrastructure on the basis of single tender as the power was required for Common Wealth Games. The construction work on the cooling tower at site is at standstill since last October when the use of less steel by contractor was detected by some DVC official. This indicates the seriousness of the defect in construction by EPC contractor by way of lesser deployment of structural steel.

All India Power Engineers Federation in its letter dated August 5 has urged the Union Power Minister that it is a fit case handed over to the CBI and the technical examiner wing of CVC to find out the role of EPC contractor and DVC Chief Engineer civil. An explanation must be demanded as to how why this has happened? And under what circumstances, lesser quantity of steel, was deployed at the cooling tower and whether DVC had relaxed/amended the contract specifications to allow for lesser quantity of steel. If not, then with whose authorisation and under what justification lesser quantity of steel was deployed.

It may be mentioned that as per RTI documents CAG found that the EPC contract file itself was missing. The advance of Rs. 354.07 crore with interest to EPC contractor was made interest free subsequently by DVC authorities. Further, the enquiry report by enquiry Officer Shyamal Chakravarty on the missing file itself is untraceable. Reliance Infrastructure in their letter dated December 13 2010 has claimed that cooling tower structure is safe as per codal requirements and site drawings. Moreover, their sub contractor has provided extended guarantee for cooling towers.
merinews.com