Ranchi, Dec. 5: If it?s poll time, the mantra is to play safe, more so when there?s a whiff of a scam.

A section of ministers put their foot down yesterday at the Cabinet meeting and refused to even discuss the proposal of the energy department to re-award the construction work of 52 power substations to Jyoti Structures for Rs 131 crore. The project is under the vigilance scanner over allegations of being pushed for an ?excessive amount of Rs 86 crore?.

Pointing out that the vigilance probe into the high cost of the project was still on, the group of ministers instead preferred to discuss how to recover Rs 18 crore that was paid as advance.

Approved by the JSEB board on November 7, 2003, the file reached the cabinet yesterday as objections on the project from various quarters is causing the delay. The ministers? protest prompted Arjun Munda, who also holds charge of energy, to direct the department to submit the proposal again with a detailed report.

?Yesterday the proposal was placed before the Cabinet by the energy department in spite of objections from the vigilance and finance departments. Even energy secretary Vinod Agarwal admitted the cost was high, but he submitted the proposal maintaining that the chief minister wanted the work to be expedited in public interest,? a minister said on condition of anonymity.

The minister claimed that the bureaucracy was passing the ball to the Cabinet?s court. ?But when all (departments like finance and vigilance) have refused, why should we give the go-ahead,? he said.

Another minister pointed out that with the election round the corner ? the Assembly poll is expected to be held early next year ? it was better to be safe than sorry. ?Tomorrow if the vigilance sleuths find out that there were excessive payments, we will be in the dock as all others have played safe. Last year, then energy secretary Sudhir Prasad had alleged Jyoti Structure was charging Rs 86 crore more. He had requested then energy minister Lalchand Mahto to obtain legal opinion on the price aspect. But instead of seeking legal opinion, Mahto forwarded the file to the JSEB for approval. Mahto also cited Munda?s order in public interest,? the minister said.

He wondered why Munda, as energy minister, allowed the file to be placed before the Cabinet.

?He could have turned down the department?s proposal as no files can be placed before the Cabinet without the approval of the minister concerned,? he said.

?We cannot throw away Rs 100 crore to recover an advance of Rs 18 crore. There are legal ways to recover the advance and it would be foolish to pump more into the controversial project,? he added.