Barely a week after announcing some disinvestment in NHPC, the government gave marching orders to the former's finance director, A B L Srivastava, late on Monday.
On an unofficial extension since January 2014, following a legal tussle with the government, he was given a letter relieving him from the job with immediate effect. A source said director (personnel) R S Mina had been given additional charge as director (finance).
Last week, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had approved disinvestment of 11.3 per cent in NHPC, to raise around Rs 3,000 crore. Srivastava’s removal was a day before a preliminary meeting was to be held to discuss the schedule for doing so.
This also comes at a time when a proposal to merge all the central government's hydro power companies with NHPC is with the government. NHPC has been pushing for creation of a hydro behemoth, with it at the helm. Government officials said the plan had been put on the backburner due to resistance from the smaller hydro power companies — Tehri Hydro Development Corporation, North Eastern Electric Power Corporation and SJVNL.
There had been a legal issue on Srivastava’s tenure, after an adverse report from the Central Vigilance Commission in 2012. NHPC had later said his tenure actually ended in February 2013. Srivastava had petitioned the high court court here and the ministry of power rescinded his relieving order. An interim order granted by the court came to an end this January. A petition from him to be allowed to continue as director (finance) was turned down by the court last month. No order had come till Monday on either continuation or removal and he'd continued as director (finance). He has now again petitioned the high court, with a hearing listed on Wednesday.
