Chandigarh, May 16 -- Former Haryana finance minister Sampat Singh on Friday demanded an inquiry into the Rs.1,300 crore payment made by Haryana power utilities (HPUs) to Sikkim Urja Limited (erstwhile Teesta Urja Ltd) - a power generation company in which Greenko Energies holds a majority stake - without the approval of the chief minister and energy minister, as required under government procedure. At a briefing, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader said the public ought to know who authorised the payout of Rs.1,300 crore, through which mechanism, on what terms, and why it was executed with such unseemly urgency bypassing the most senior political authority in the energy portfolio. HT had on March 8 published the story about how a hefty payment of about Rs.1,300 crore was made by HPUs to Sikkim Urja Limited without the approval of the CM and energy minister, thus putting the spotlight on the decision-making process that facilitated the high-value payment. "These are questions that demand answers before the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC), the state government, and if necessary the comptroller and auditor general (CAG). The people of Haryana are entitled to know the full truth of how Rs.1,300 crore found its way into a private conglomerate's accounts while 84 lakh consumers waited for agriculture tubewell subsidy and fuel surcharge subsidy the state government was legally bound to pay on time but was delayed,'' the INLD leader said. The INLD leader, who has criticised the government's decision to impose a 47 paise per unit fuel surcharge on power consumers, filed a petition with the HERC. Singh attended the proceedings before HERC on May 14 which were deferred to June 10. The power distribution companies had petitioned the HERC seeking exemption from the monthly levy of fuel and power purchase adjustment surcharge (FPPAS) for 2025-26....