Raipur, Sep 8 (IANS): GMR Energy's upcoming 1,370 MW coal-fired Chhattisgarh project faces a court case for carrying out construction work before getting permission from the state government, Chief Minister Raman Singh told the state assembly Thursday.

"The construction permission to GMR for its two units, each of 685 MW, at Raikheda village in Raipur district was granted on June 13 this year, but the company began work much before it got the permission and finally a case was filed against it in a court in August last year," he told Congress member Shiv Kumar Daharia in a written reply.

Raman Singh, who is heading the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the coal-rich state since Nov 2003, gave the information when Daharia sought details of all power agreements made by the state since the state came into existence in November 2000.

The chief minister said the state had signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the GMR Energy for the project in June 2007.

He said the state government had signed 98 power plant MoUs till date since formation of the state and also gave details of the agreements that were scrapped, including with Tata Power Company Ltd, Mumbai, and Essar Power Ltd, New Delhi, for 1,000 MW and 1,200 MW projects respectively.