ED reschedules PSPCL chief’s appearance to tomorrow

Patiala: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has rescheduled the appearance of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) CMD Basant Garg and director (commercial) Harsharan Kaur Trehan to Wednesday in connection with its money-laundering probe linked to arrested Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora. Garg and Trehan were earlier summoned to ED's New Delhi headquarters on Monday. The central agency has asked the two officials to produce records related to a Rs 1.9-crore bank guarantee that PSPCL had refunded to a company when Arora held the charge of the power ministry. The PSPCL is expected to furnish file notes, approval records and internal correspondence sought by investigators. Garg said PSPCL was complying with ED's directives. "ED has sought certain institutional records. The entire record will be meticulously produced and submitted to the investigators," Garg said.Trehan could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.Sources said in Oct 2023, when Arora was a Rajya Sabha MP, the company secured approval for a revised no-objection certificate (NOC) from PSPCL to enhance its power load from 1,950 KVA to 7,293 KVA on a 66 KV line after depositing a mandatory bank guarantee of Rs 1.9 crore valid till Sept 2028.After Arora became power minister, the company allegedly sought to downgrade the electricity supply line from 66 KV to 11 KV. Under PSPCL regulations, the original guarantee could only be released after the developer submitted a revised security deposit of Rs 1.87 crore.However, PSPCL allegedly refunded the entire Rs 1.97 crore guarantee on Feb 3 this year, a day after the developer's request dated Feb 2, without obtaining the replacement security. This reportedly left the utility without any financial security cover for nearly two months. A replacement guarantee was allegedly furnished only on April 6 after objections were raised by PSPCL engineers.The ED is examining whether ministerial influence played a role in the clearance and has sought all approval notes and internal file records linked to the decision.Investigators are specifically probing why PSPCL's commercial wing cleared the release of the original guarantee before obtaining a revised security instrument. The guarantee had been deposited for a 40-acre business park project in Ludhiana. The company, which has since been renamed, is alleged to have links to the Arora family's business interests.Earlier, the ED had also summoned two close associates of Arora, including a Jalandhar-based businessman, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).