``We will launch a state-wide agitation against the second phase of the Enron power project. The implementation of this project will definitely result in the closure of the crisis-ridden Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB),'' President of the Federation and Communist Party of India (CPI) General Secretary A B Bardhan said.

Elaborating on the action plan, Bardhan said that during the fortnight from July 20, the federation, in collaboration with leading trade unions, lawyers, journalists, intellectuals and farmers, will organise conventions in all the districts. ``Our aim is to awaken the masses and explain to them the disadvantages of the Enron power project,''Bardhan said.

Bardhan said the convention has made two demands: the first phase and the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) should be reviewed and secondly, Phase II should be scrapped with immediate effect. ``We do not need so much power. In fact, as per official records, the board has closed its units at Chandrapur to facilitate purchase of power from Enron,'' he said.

Bardhan alleged that despite its tall claims, there was absolutely no transparency in the second phase of the project. ``In the first phase, following the intervention of the high court, we had access to all the papers, but so far as the second phase is concerned, it is a secret deal between the alliance government and the Dabhol Power Company,'' he alleged.

Bardhan wanted the first phase scrapped since the entire project was against the interests of the MSEB. ``Legally, I do not know whether the first phase can be scrapped. But we can certainly amend the Power Purchase Agreement in such a manner that it should not be binding on MSEB to buyall the power produced by Enron,'' he said.

Bardhan said the deeming provision in the PPA should be revoked so also the provision regarding arbitration. ``As per the deeming provision, even if the MSEB does not purchase power, we still have to pay for it. So far as the question of arbitration is concerned, it has been stated in the PPA that all disputes will be tried before the London courts. This should also be revoked. Since the project is in Maharashtra, all disputes should be referred to the local courts.'' he said.

Then there is also the problem of cost. The monthly bills sent by the Dabhol Power Company, clearly indicate that Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde, who also holds the energy portfolio, has been misleading the state.

``Initially, Munde had stated that the power rate will be Rs 2.15 per unit. After the receipt of the first bill, he claimed it was Rs 3.01 per unit, but from records, it is clear that it was Rs 5.50 per unit,'' he added.

Federation Working President Mohan Sharma saidthe board will be losing at least Rs 700 crore per annum owing to the completion of the first phase. ``The alliance government has decided to set up a joint venture company for the purpose. We will oppose it at all levels,'' Sharma added.