Seeking to distance itself from the controversy over not bidding for Enron equity in Dabhol Power Company in the US bankruptcy court, the Maharashtra State Electricity Board on Tuesday said the agreement reached by GE, Bechtel, Overseas Private Investment Corporation and Enron last week was a comprehensive settlement of all claims and litigation among themselves.

"The agreement reached between GE, Bechtel, OPIC and Enron is a comprehensive settlement which includes mutual releases of claims, share purchases and assignment and it is unlikely for MSEB to have made such an offer," acting MSEB chairman Jayant Kawale told reporters in Mumbai.

Had MSEB made the offer it would not have brought an end to other claims and litigations the concerned parties were involved internally, he said, adding that the board had acted on the advice of three lawyers who did not favour bidding for Enron stake as it would have impacted other court cases.

Under the agreement reached by the four US entities, Enron has been assured 18 per cent of the claims which DPC can make against the Indian government with a ceiling of $342 million, he said, adding that it would not have been possible for MSEB to make such an offer.

He said, the US bankruptcy court took into account the overall comprehensive settlement arrived by the parties and it was not as if court was auctioning Enron shares, adding that the court took into account overall interests of bankrupt Enron.

He said Reliance, whose higher bid was rejected by the US court, had not approached the state government for backing its proposal.

With Enron and OPIC now out of picture, the number of stakeholders has been reduced, Kawale said, adding that there were reports that Indian and offshore lenders were negotiating to strike an agreement.

"The only way out of the tangle was to reduce the number of players," he said.

Maharashtra government has taken its decisions and the central government was close to arriving at one for the speedy restart of the languishing project.

Welcoming GE's statment that as a responsible stakeholder it was looking foward for negotiated settlement, Kawale said MSEB was in discussions with GE for last few months to reach a settlement in the vexed tangle.

On power shortage in the state, he said the overall peak shortage was about 1900 MW and the depletion in the Koyna dam level by 9.5 feet was a matter of concern and problems could arise in latter part of May.

He said the unbundling of the MSEB would not be done in the way it was done in Andhra Pradesh as under the new Electricity Act, the companies would have to face competition from private players.

Kawale said there would be no retrenchment during the unbundling of MSEB and that the board was itself short by 14,000 employees against the current sanctioned strength of 106,000 employees.