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| With change of guard, will power schemes in JK see light of day? | | Funds lapse, projects miss deadlines | | Early Times Report
Jammu, May 5: With the change of guard in the ministry of power, million dollar question has begun to saunter the power corridors of the state: whether the power projects, kept in limbo earlier, would now see light of the day?
Top sources within the government divulged that there were vital power projects that have repeatedly missed the deadlines with the government of India dismayed over such a pathetic functioning of the power ministry. "There were crores of rupees that got lapsed due to non-implementation of the schemes. It is still a question about whether such a practise would continue even with the new face," says a senior official of the state power department. Meanwhile, the reports inform that no more than 20 percent of the project has been completed in the state with snail's pace progress made in this regard acting as a major spoilsport. The state government is set to miss the deadline for the implementation of the project.
The project was aimed to curtail T&D losses in the state and ensure round the clock electricity to state households. For the first phase of the project, the Central government had sanctioned Rs.151.99 crores under R-APDRP while an amount of Rs.1665.27 crores had been approved for the second phase of this vital project.
However, PDD insiders divulge that there hasn't been much forward movement witnessed vis-a-vis the covering the twin capitals under this scheme. "The fact is that only handful of areas has so far been covered under the scheme including those where VIPs like legislators and bureaucrats reside. In other areas, the scheme isn't seeing day's light," says a PDD official.
The official blamed the dilatory mode of functioning responsible for making such a vital power reform scheme a flop show in JK. "There is no follow up action, no meeting and no report cards sought from the helmsmen in the department by the government over the implementation of such scheme. The result is that they are going at the pace they are known for," PDD sources said.
The second phase was supposed to cover two main cities including Jammu and Srinagar for which the funds estimated at the cost of Rs. 52,89 crores have been approved.
These schemes were proposed to be taken up under National Electricity Fund for which Rural Electrification Corporation is the nodal agency. Under this scheme 30 towns have been identified as project areas in J&K state with population of above 10,000 as per 2001 census. For this purpose, the government had already taken a pilot exercise and some 30 towns have been identified as project areas in J&K, another 283 towns with population of over 4000 have also been identified that will be covered in the second phase. Phase -1 of 283 towns is to cost Rs. 171.61 crores and phase-2 will cost Rs. 1073.33 crores. These projects were proposed to be taken up under Phase-II of R-APDRP through a special dispensation which could not materialize. |
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