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Cogentrix told to win friends and influence people

Our Correspondent

Win friends and influence people, is the sum of the message delivered by Union Power Minister P Rangarajan Kumaramangalam to power giant Cogentrix.

The MNC, which is putting up a 1,000 megawatt power project in Mangalore, has been advised to work harder at its public relations.

The minister pointed out that while similar power projects in other parts of the country were on the fast track, Cogentrix was facing stiff resistance from environmentalists. A case against the planned project is, in fact, pending before the Supreme Court.

Pointing out that Cogentrix had become the focus of environmentalist ire, Kumaramangalam said, "I am not against the project, but I think they have to do a lot of convincing and for that, a substantial amount of PR is called for."

Kumaramangalam said he would not insist on reopening the MoUs of other fast track projects, but would content himself with asking the state governments concerned if it was possible, through negotiations, to bring power tariffs down. This, he argued, was necessitated by the global fall in price of equipment.

The minister said state governments would be asked to complete the process of re-negotiation in three months at the outside. "There is no time to waste," he said.