Balco unhappy over arrest of officials

Disappointed with the arrest of three of its officials in connection with the chimney disaster incident, Vedanta-controlled Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (Balco) has put the ball on the court of construction companies for the collapse of the structure.

The Chinese construction company, Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation (SEPCO), was awarded work for setting up the 1200-Mw power plant. The Chinese firm had given contract to Indian construction company Gannon Dunkerley and Company Limited (GDCL) to build the chimneys.

Under the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) agreement, the Sepco was supposed to hand over the power plant to Balco after the completion of work, Balcos chief of corporate communication B K Sriwastwa told Business Standard. The construction companies were responsible for all the works, he added.

The arrest of Balco officials was not justified as it was the onus of the Sepco and GDCL, Sriwastwa said, adding that the management was disappointed with the action taken by police against the officials.

The Korba police on Monday arrested three officials including company's Vice-President and Project Manager Viral Mehta, Assistant General Manager (projects) Deepak Narang and trainee engineer Anoop Mahapatra.

The officials were arrested after a case was registered with the police following the collapse of the chimney that killed 41 people on September 23. The local court of law had rejected the bail plea of the officials and sent them to judicial custody for 14 days.

Sriwastwa said the Balco management had been extending all cooperation to the investigating agencies besides taking care of the family members of those killed in the tragic incident.