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| New Delhi again refuses to return power projects to J&K | | Another administrative failure! | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Sept 22: Despite ongoing turmoil, union power ministry continues to stonewall the Jammu and Kashmir government's request for the transfer of ownership of hydroelectric projects located in the state, not withstanding the Rangarajan committee's strong recommendations.
Citing the 'demand and counter demand theory', sources said that union power ministry has repeatedly advised Jammu and Kashmir government not to insist on the return of Dulhasti, Salal, Pakal Dul and Bursar hydroelectric power projects to state from Northern Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).
Sources confirmed that repeated assertion of the Jammu and Kashmir government especially that of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah about early return of power projects to the state is a blatant lie. "Transfer of the projects to the Jammu and Kashmir government is not in the interest of either NHPC or the central hydel sector since it may lead to similar demand by other states which are also contributing in central pool," said an official associated with NHPC.
He stressed that Jammu and Kashmir government has repeatedly requested centre for transfer of the upcoming 1020 MW Bursar Storage Scheme, 390-mw Dulhasti HEP project and even 690 MW Salal HEP to the state sector but the same is not possible since this would result in other states raising similar demands. Besides, he said that Jammu and Kashmir would not able to compensate NHPC for the cost of the projects.
Maintaining that state should come up with some other innovative mechanism for addressing the issue of power deficit, the official said that no transfer of projects is possible in the next 10 to 15 years to the Jammu and Kashmir government. In the wake of this ostensibly clear stance of Union Power Ministry and officials of NHPC, statement made by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for early return of power projects is both misleading and far from reality.
Omar who had himself pleaded the cause of Jammu and Kashmir government with union power ministry for return of power projects is aware of factual position and stated stance of government of India over the issue yet the statement made by him in the legislative assembly is inexplicable, asserted sources. They further said that no fresh agreement can revoke the earlier agreements.
"If NHPC is compensated in line with the losses assessed by our surveyors, the projects would be transferred but till then, we do not any possibility of projects being returned to Jammu and Kashmir," said another official of NHPC. He maintained that Rs 18,000 crore has been sanctioned for development of power projects under central sector in the state and once these are completed, Jammu and Kashmir would get much cheaper electricity.
However, he repeatedly said that Union power ministry has no immediate to discuss proposal for the transfer of hydroelectric projects back to Jammu And Kashmir State. Specifically, talking about the Salal Project and Dul-Hasti which the state government prioritized, the official said that Union ministry of Power has expressed strong reservations on the proposal on the grounds that it would have adverse commercial impact on the existing beneficiaries, said the sources.
He added that the project is providing peaking power to the northern grid and its beneficiaries, apart from Jammu and Kashmir, include the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Delhi and union territory of Chandigarh. The transfer of these projects has been recommended by Dr C. Rangarajan's task force on the development of Jammu and Kashmir were under active consideration.
Needless to mention that these recommendations are under active consideration of the Prime Minister's office since the last more than 4 years. Moreover, about the Dulhasti project, Union Power ministry citing non-availability of expertise within the state to run such a large hydro project has reportedly asked the state government to defer the proposal for atleast twenty years.
Union power ministry has advised the state government to establish a 1000 MW Thermal Power Station either in District Jammu or Kathua to overcome the acute shortage of power supply in winter season. They have further asked the government to accept the alternative of Thermal Power Stations for redressing the base load power requirement of 1500 MW during the winter season.
It is pertinent to mention here that in October 2004, the then Chief Minister of J&K Mufti Mohammed Sayeed had written to the Prime Minister requesting transfer of the Salal HEP to the state to meet its power shortages. The request was based on the argument that due to restrictions imposed by Indus Water Treaty, state should be compensated for the same.
Rangrajan committee in its report has confirmed that when the matter was referred to Union Power ministry, they expressed strong reservations on the proposal on grounds of adverse commercial impact on the existing beneficiaries, adverse commercial impact on NHPC, non-availability of expertise within J&K required to run a large hydro project, and possibility of triggering similar demands from other states. |
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