The power ministry has removed Subrata Biswas from the post of Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) chairman following the Central Vigilance Commission?s (CVC) objection to his appointment without vigilance clearance.

Power ministry officials told FE that the order to remove Biswas was issued on November 27 and that he has been repatriated to Kerala, his parent IAS cadre. FE was the first to report on November 13 that the CVC had written to the power ministry against Biswas? appointment. In a letter dated October 20, the CVC wrote, ?It is not understood how the ministry processed his (Biswas) appointment without vigilance clearance from the commission.?

In fact, a CVC clearance is mandatory for such appointments and though the power ministry had sought a CVC clearance for Biswas, it didn?t wait for the clearance and appointed Biswas as DVC chairman in October.

The CVC had made it clear to the ministry that there were disciplinary proceedings against Biswas in three cases.

Biswas, who joined DVC on September 2006 as secretary, was promoted to the post of the chairman on October 14 with the appointment committee of cabinet headed by the Prime Minister and the power ministry clearing it. In fact, the ministry should have also taken the West Bengal and Jharkhand governors? clearance on his appointment because DVC, currently a 2,854 mw company which wants to reach 10,000 mw by 2012, is a three-way venture between the Union, West Bengal and Jharkhand governments formed by an act of Parliament.

The post of the DVC chairman was lying vacant for 10 months after Asim Barman retired on November 2008. As a result, power projects adding up to 7,250 mw of generation by 2012 got delayed.

GB Pradhan, additional secretary, ministry of power, was given additional charge of the DVC chairman.

Even projects that are supposed to power the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi are running behind schedule and DVC may not be able to supply Delhi the required 2,500 mw by then.

Officials said the power ministry started the process of selecting a new chairman 10 months before Barman retired. But as the Union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde sought Barman?s extension from the Prime Minsiter, the process was stalled. But the Prime Minister refused to give Barman any extension again on the grounds of adverse CVC reports.

Although Sreemath Pandey, principal secretary in the Rajasthan chief minister?s department was the first choice for the post, Biswas, the second name on the panel, was chosen because the Rajasthan government refused to release Pandey.

Now with Biswas removed from the post within 43 days of his appointment, the government is left with the option of either giving someone a dual charge or start the process all over again.

Neither power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde nor power secretary HS Brahma was available for comment on the issue. But ministry sources said the government is yet to decide on who should take charge of DVC.