Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Wednesday ordered the cancellation of contracts worth Rs 480 crore (Rs 4.8 billion) to Maytas Infrastructure given by the state power distribution company Mahavitaran and called for fresh bids.

Maytas was awarded the contract for commissioning of sub-stations, transmission and distribution lines in the Ahmadnagar, Beed and Latur districts in September last year.

Replying to queries during a press conference, Chavan said, "After the fraud committed by Raju came to light and the connection between Satyam [Get Quote] and Maytas became evident, I have ordered Mahavitaran to cancel the contract and start bidding process afresh."

Justifying the decision to give land to Satyam at a concessional rate in the Mihan SEZ promoted by Maharashtra Airport Development Co in Nagpur, Chavan said, "Whenever any new industrial park or SEZ is developed, the anchor tenant is given land at concessional rate to attract further investments, so there is nothing wrong with it."