Jharkhand electricity board chief sacked

H B Lal who had been reinstated as chairman of Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB) on August 30 by an order of the Supreme Court could hold his office only for five days. Raj Bhawan source said Governor M O H Farook removed Lal from the post of JSEB chairman by reconstituting the power board headed by former chief secretary and senior IAS officer Shiv Basant.

According to IG (vigilance) M V Rao FIRs were lodged on August 30 against former chief minister Madhu Koda and H B Lal, B M Verma and B N Pandey, all three former JSEB chairmen and officials of IVRCL, for causing loss to the state through manipulation of tenders relating to rural electrification projects in Jharkhand. The apex court, while passing orders on the reinstatement of Lal, granted the state government liberty to reconstitute the electricity board under sections 5(5) of the Electricity Act. Accordingly, the Governor on September 4 reconstituted JSEB.

Jharkhand High Court on April 27, 2009, had quashed the September 27, 2008, appointment of Lal as JSEB chairman, questioning the state government’s role in selecting a “90-year-old” (according to the PIL) for a second term, ignoring government rules for appointments. Lal, who was first appointed as JSEB chairman in 2004, moved the Supreme Court challenging the high court order. Acting on the high court order, on April 29, 2009, then governor Syed Sibtey Razi removed Lal and appointed A K Chugh as the 10th chairman of JSEB.