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| Proposal for privatization of power put on hold | | |
Early Times Report
srinagar, Apr 21: The government has put the proposal for privatization of power in the state on hold after it faced criticism from various quarters.
The Power Development Department (PDD) had said that it had registered four power companies that will deal separately with transmission, distribution and trading of power in the state. However, the proposal has not gone well in the state.
"The proposal for privatization of electricity has been put on hold," an official of the Power Development Department said
The official said the privatization of electricity was under the consideration of the government for the last so many years. "No final decision has been taken in this regard so far. The previous government had taken an initiative for privatization of power," he said.
The employees of PDD had opposed any such move and staged protests.
The employees' unions had said they would strongly launch united struggle to oppose the proposed move of bundling up the department. They feared that career of a large number of PDD employees would become uncertain with the privatization.
The PDD had registered a state transmission company, two distribution companies (one each for Kashmir and Jammu region) under the Companies Act, 1956, to deal with consumers and transmission.
The unbundling of the PDD is a legal requirement under the Jammu and Kashmir Electricity Act, 2010.
In 2011-12, the then state government had started the process by engaging an international consultancy firm, for restructuring the department, including unbundling and corporatisation. The project had not progressed beyond the planning stage, sources.
The total transmission and distribution losses in J&K stand at a staggering 54 per cent. Kashmir accounts for 64 per cent of losses while it is about 41 per cent in the Jammu division. In revenue realisation, the government is able to recover half the target set annually.
The generation, transmission and distribution functions in almost all other states in India are being carried out by autonomous organisations. |
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