NCLT allows GE Power to withdraw insolvency petition as BHEL offers settlement
National Company Law Tribunal on Wednesday allowed GE Power to withdraw its insolvency petition against public sector undertaking, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, with the liberty to revive if the operational debt is not settled. Counsels for GE Power Akshay Sapre, along with Abhijit Swarup and Aneesha Rastogi from The Guild, a law firm, informed the tribunal that BHEL had sent a letter to GE Power to settle Rs 25 crore of debt amount owed to GE Power.
GE Power was awarded the contract by BHEL for a Rs 271 crore project to supply components and services for supercritical steam generator island packages in 2016. BHEL had secured the order for 2x800 MW coal-based Uppur Thermal Power Project from Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation for Rs 5,600 crore.
GE Power was demanding a payment of remaining Rs 36 crore from BHEL, of which Rs 5 crore was paid earlier. The public sector undertaking has promised to pay another Rs 25 crore, as per the letter.
The Uppur project has been a subject of controversy with regards to environmental clearances. The National Green Tribunal in 2021 had kept the environmental clearance for the plant in abeyance.
The court stated that as TANGEDCO had proposed the use of indigenous coal in place of imported coal, environmental impact needed to be reassessed. The villagers in Uppur, Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu, where the plant is located have been protesting against pollution caused by the construction of the power plant.
. Read more on economictimes.indiatimes.com
