Chandigarh, March 10 -- Expressing concern over the "unauthorised and highly suspicious" payout of about Rs 1,300 crore by Haryana Power Utilities to Sikkim Urja Limited, a Greenko Energies linked firm, former Haryana finance minister Sampat Singh on Monday demanded a judicial inquiry to investigate the "hidden hands" behind this transaction. Sampat Singh also called for a White Paper detailing all payments made to private power producers over the last three years. Reacting to the Hindustan Times report, Payout to Greenko-linked firm without CM's nod draws scrutiny, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) patron said that the release of this amount in October 2025, bypassing the mandatory approval of the chief minister and the energy minister is not merely a procedural lapse but suggested a deep-rooted conspiracy. He said under government protocol, payments of such magnitude require the explicit nod of the CM and minister. "It is shocking that even energy minister Anil Vij was kept in the dark. If the highest elected authorities did not sign off, then whose interests were these officials serving?" he questioned. He said while the BJP-led Haryana government continues to burden the common man with high electricity tariff and surcharges, it is "gifting" over a thousand crores to a private-linked entity for a project that has been non-functional due to flash floods. He pointed out that while a 2022 payment of Rs 712.72 crore to Adani Power followed approval of the chief minister and council of ministers, the Sikkim Urja- Greenko transaction was rushed through despite the main appeal still being pending adjudication before the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL). He noted that the sudden shifting of officials involved in the payment shortly after the October transaction smells of a cover-up. The former finance minister highlighted that the strategy should have been to wait for a settlement, which would have likely reduced the payout. "The decision to release the funds prematurely came as a surprise even to department insiders," he said. Former Haryana IAS officer Ashok Khemka on Monday sought fixing accountability in the Rs 1,300-crore payout by Haryana Power Utilities to Sikkim Urja, a Greenko Energies-linked firm. In a tweet, the former civil servant while referring to the the Hindustan Times news report - 'Payout to Greenko-linked firm without CM's nod draws scrutiny' raised questions over the payout, pointing out that the state had paid Rs 1,300 crore to a private company despite not receiving a single unit of electricity. "Not a single unit of electricity used by the state, but Rs 1,300 crore paid to a private company. Incompetence writ large. Either the agreement was defective, or its termination faulty, or the state defence in tribunal poor. Who is accountable ?," wrote Khemka, underscoring concerns over the handling of the power purchase agreement and subsequent litigation....