Mustansir
SRINAGAR, Apr 12: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has pointed out major faults in the Power Development Department for non-formulation of the State electricity policy, State Electricity Plan (SEP), time over run in completion of projects and poor headway in total metering, resulting in loss of hundreds of crores. The State, which suffers 56 percent transmission and distribution losses, the highest in the country, is plagued by long hours of power shutdown, both in peak winter and summers when it's needed the most in Kashmir and Jammu regions.
Obviously then, the grim power scenario perennially continues to be the reason of people's anger and ridicule both, the State Transmission Utility (STU) along with the Central Transmission Utility (CTU) play key role in responsibility of network planning and development based on the national electricity plan. The department is also responsible for the assessment of demand for power.
Even though the Government had enacted an act to prepare the plan and notify it once in five years, the Government had, as on July 2012, not made any plan and policy.
As a result, the works were carried out in stand alone mode without taking into account the assessment demand and requirement for capacity buildings.
In 2011-12, the power purchasing expenditure was Rs 3,000 crore, while revenue was only Rs 1,993 crore, mainly because of absence of full metering.
In 2011-12, the department had planned 19 sub-stations but added 11. It had planned 2,434 transformer capacitors (MVA) but added 1,596 and for transmission lines (CKM) it planned 930 but could execute only 324 - shortfall of 65 percent. The report notes that poor execution was the major reason for non-achievements of capacity addition targets. The department didn't do preparatory work in advance for survey, design and getting necessary clearance and also tendering activities, which resulted in cost over run.
The power sector boost under Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Plan in 2003 and the cost of projects involving 66 works -construction of 24 grid sub-stations, laying of 37 transmission lines and augmentation of five existing sub-stations was finally revised to Rs 1,351 crore by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA).
Despite recommendations of the task force of timely execution of projects, the time over-run in completion of 40 projects, including grid sub-stations, transmission lines and augmentation ranged between three to 48 months and the audit report observed cost over-run of Rs 113 crore in 23 out of 40 projects.
Not only that, 26 projects were incomplete (March 2012) despite time over-run ranging from 20 to 48 months. Because of the delay, another revision in respect of 17 incomplete projects major projects with cost over-run of Rs 155 crore against already revised cost of Rs 506 crore in 2006.
The report noted that the delay was mainly due to right-of-way problems, changes in designs, litigation problems and getting necessary clearance because the Government didn't take the preparatory steps.
Even though it was clearly stated that no project would be started without the necessary clearance from the Forest department and Land Acquisitions, eight projects were undertaken in its absence and an expenditure of Rs 155 crore was incurred and finally they had to be stopped.
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