CAG Report: Massive irregularities found in solar project in Attappadi

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Massive irregularities have been found in the solar power project implemented to provide electricity to two tribal settlements in Attappadi, according to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

The CAG report states that by violating tender conditions and illegally awarding the contract to a single company, the government incurred losses worth crores. The project was jointly implemented by ANERT (Agency for Non-conventional Energy and Rural Technology) and the Electricity Department.

A 50 kW solar power system was installed at Thazhethudukki, where 43 tribal families reside, and a 60 kW system was installed at Melethudukki, which houses 47 tribal families.

Without properly assessing wind availability, a wind power project was also implemented, which eventually turned out to be a total failure. Neither ANERT nor the Electricity Department provided any justification for this.

For the Thazhethudukki project tender, only Windstream Energy Technology participated and was awarded the contract at their quoted price.

For the Melethudukki project, tenders were invited three times. The first tender was cancelled without opening the bids. Five companies participated in the second tender. Power-One Micro Systems quoted the lowest at Rs 1.94 crore, while Windstream Energy Technology quoted Rs 3.48 crore. However, this tender was also cancelled without giving any valid reason.

In the third round, separate tenders were called for solar and wind energy. Despite quoting the highest amount, the contract was awarded to Windstream Energy Technology. The wind energy project was awarded without conducting any preliminary feasibility study, resulting in complete failure.

Additionally, the inverter lacked BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) certification, and no test certificate was submitted before accepting the technical bid.

Special favors to Windstream Energy Technology
Instead of retendering the Thazhethudukki project to attract more participants, the contract was directly awarded to Windstream Energy Technology Private Limited, Telangana, for Rs 1.43 crore. Further, an additional Rs 27.66 lakh was paid without any special inspection or verification, even before the completion of the work.

In the third tender for Melethudukki, Suntastic Engineering quoted Rs 1.92 crore for the solar project and Rs 2.70 crore combined with wind power. Windstream Energy Technology quoted Rs 2.07 crore for solar and Rs 3.58 crore including wind. By making changes to the tender weightage criteria, the contract was awarded to Windstream Energy, which had quoted the highest amount.