We are writing to you, as concerned citizens, regarding the power purchase agreement (PPA) signed by the Dabhol Power Corporation (subsidiary of Enron) with MSEB, which has been counter guaranteed by the Government of India. It has become clear from various media reports as well as from statements by MSEB and Maharashtra govt. functionaries that the price that the public has to pay for DPC's power (as per the PPA) is extraordinarily high. A minimum loss of Rs.1000 crores per year is being suffered. This will only multiply over the next twenty years.

We believe this intolerable state of affairs has come to pass because the contract was undertaken in a corrupt manner.

The circumstances under which such a fundamentally flawed PPA was signed, then cleared by various Central authorities and finally counter-guaranteed by the Central government have led many to suspect extensive corruption stretching from the state to the central level.

We note that:

1. The contract (which is one of the largest cash transactions in our country) was signed with undue haste without any open bidding or transparency of process. The PPA is still a secret document.
2. The Central Electricity Authority failed to discharge its statutory duties of giving the project the mandatory techno-economic clearance.It appears this was due to pressure from central ministries of finance and power.
3. The Govt. of Maharashtra itself had deposited in a suit in the State High court in 1995 that there were irregularities and fraud in the signing of the contract. The parent company Enron in an annual report disclosed a sum of 20 million dollars spent on "educating Indians"

We believe that an inquiry into this contract at the central level is warranted. The people of Maharshtra are being forced to pay a very high price for the power purchased under this very questionable deal. Moreover, since the central govt., acting in our name, has placed as lien, in its counter-guarantee to Enron, all its assets (save military and diplomatic), such an inquiry is owed to the citizens of India.

If the corruption is openly brought out, the PPA can be nullified and the financial swindle that is set to happen over the next twenty years can yet be stopped.

We believe that the CVC is the appropriate institution to oversee such an inquiry. It would be similar in spirit to the examination you are conducting into all defense deals signed since 1984-85. We strongly urge you to bring your good offices to bear on the Enron contract and investigate the government functionaries and others involved in it's signing.

Looking forward to an urgent positive response from you.

Yours Sincerely,