Biz Buzz

Are the days numbered for SEBI chairman D.R. Mehta? It seems so, if one goes by theindications stemming from the corridors of the Finance Ministry. Mehta, who airdashed tothe Indian Capital last Sunday, had a series of meetings with Finance Minister YashwantSinha and senior officials of the ministry. What transpired? Well, Mehta was told that hisrecommendations for two-year extensions for two SEBI executive directors -- which wereforwarded by the Central Bureau for Direct Taxes (CBDT) -- could not be accepted and thatthe duo would have to leave the moment their stipulated time is over! Ministry insiderssee this as a direct missive from the FM to Mehta and an indication of the next move tocome. The two, who have always been considered close to Mehta, are L. K. Singhvi (inchargeof investigation, enforcement & surveillance (IES), venture capital funds andderivatives) and Ashok Kacker (in charge of mutual funds department, collective investmentschemes, investor grievances and guidance). Tough decisions from the soft-spoken Sinha?

The race, it seems, is over for the CBI chief. Home Ministry insiders admit thatdespite a recent Supreme Court stricture, the government has cleared the name of AndhraPradesh Director General of Police H. J. Dora for the post. Interestingly, Dora was issueda notice by the court on charges that he granted sanction for prosecution of a largenumber of persons in TADA cases in a very casual manner. Dora, who had the backing ofAndhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, pipped two prime candidates in the race-- CBI Special Director P.C. Sharma and CRPF chief Trinath Mishra -- both beingvociferously backed by the Home Ministry and the PMO. Another interesting twist to theentire saga is that Dora -- insiders claim -- had complete information of the taintedGlobal Trust Bank (GTB) and its recently-sacked managing director Ramesh Gelli who wasknown for his proximity to Naidu. But now that Dora will assume the top mantle, does thatmean soft-peddaling the GTB issue and turning the heat on UTI?

Do all power projects in India come with their tinge of controversies? It seems so.Well, this one revolves around the Sawalkote hydro project which the Indian Prime Ministerand his Norwegian counterpart signed last Sunday.

Highly placed sources say the PMO hasshown undue interest in clearing this project, which has been hanging fire for more thantwo years. Surprisingly, the offers were made in December 2000 and the Norwegianconstruction company's (NCC) bid was selected, despite the fact that it was made for $9.98billion and Rs 800 crores more than the one offered by the Jaiprakash Industries. Now theentire process has been mired in controversies. For example, the first offer from NCC wasmade in dollars. Then it was changed to Euros! Then again the loans were offered indollars and Euros. The Power Ministry told the PMO that the deal, if pushed through, wouldmean an additional offshore loan of Rs 3,000 crores. But then, the ministry was told toignore the same. And this could have been avoided if the second offer, lower by Rs 800crore, was accepted. Now what is interesting is that human rights activist and authorArundhati Roy has raised this issue with Vajpayee and also with the visiting Norwegian PM.During her conversation with the visiting Prime Minister, she asked him as to why Norway-- which has put a ban on all hydro power projects at home -- would fund such a project inIndia. Roy also asked Vajpayee as to why this project was pushed through, especially whenthe Uri project (run by Skanska AB of Sweden) in the state was commissioned only a yearago. Some more troubled times for the PMO?

When you talk of media, how can you keep DD out of the picture. Especially when thestate-owned broadcaster functions almost like a sandbag.

You poke it and it will leak.Close on the heels of the news that the much-talked about DD Metro honeymoon with Channel9India was coming to an end, Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj has askedfor the papers which show expensive equipment acquired by DD from Channel9 of Australianmedia tycoon Kerry Packer was discarded as junk by Doordarshan authorities.

Remember ClickCricket.com?

Disgraced cricketer Ajay Jadeja had a share in the portalwhich also had exclusive Net rights for Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly and paid a whoppingamount to former opener Navjot Singh Sidhu for an exclusive column But the news is thatthe portal is downing shutters and has told employees that June 1, 2001, will be the lastday of operations.