Dadri power project getting delayed: Singh

LUCKNOW: The "dispute" between Ambani brothers Mukesh and Anil over the proposed Dadri power plant in Uttar Pradesh and Mukesh's "influence" on the Union Petroleum Ministry is "delaying" the project, UP Development Council chairman Amar Singh alleged on Friday.

"The dispute between the two brothers Anil and Mukesh and the latter's influence on the (Petroleum) Ministry due to his relations with Minister Murli Deora is the reason behind delay in fixation of gas supply rates," Singh said.

"Once the rates are finalised, I can assure that the work on project would start the very next day," the Samajwadi Party leader told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

Terming the Union Petroleum Ministry as "Murli-Mukesh Ministry," he also re-iterated his party's charge that the Centre was meting out "step-motherly" treatment to the state with the aim of "defaming" it.

Referring to former Prime Minister V P Singh's agitation against acquisition of farmers' land in Dadri, the SP leader said he would "urge him to better concentrate towards those areas of Andhra Pradesh and Maharastra where farmers were committing suicide".

Earlier, highligting achievements of UPDC at a seminar on food processing, Singh claimed that investment proposals of Rs 72091 crore were received by the Council but due to the lack of aggressive marketing and publicity, the achievements could not come to the notice of public, giving opposition parties room to create "confusion" among the masses.