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| 8 years on, Alastang grid station awaits completion | | | Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, July 27: In a glaring example of administrative inertia, the government is yet to complete the Alastang grid station on which the work was started eight years ago, in 2010 for transmission of electricity to Ganderbal district, and was expected to upgrade the power scenario of Kashmir.
However, very little work has been done over the years on the project that missed multiple deadlines. An official of the Power Development Department, said that there is an immense load on Pampore and Zainakote power grids from where electricity is being supplied to Srinagar, Ganderbal, and Pulwama districts.
"The two power grids face overloading resulting in frequent power cuts in Srinagar and Ganderbal districts. Presently, Ganderbal gets electricity from Zainakote grid station and remains overloaded," the official said.
"Had the Alastang grid station been completed, it would have reduced load on two existing power grids and helped to upgrade the power supply in the valley," the official said.
In December last year, the government of India announced an allocation of additional power of 792 MW for Jammu and Kashmir during winters. However, the official said that additional allocation of power would have helped the state only if "we had required infrastructure available".
He said that state would get benefit from additional allocation of power only when the Jalandhar-Leh power transmission line and Alastang grid station gets completed. Sterlite Power Grid Ventures Limited (Sterlite Grid), a private company started the work in 2016 for setting up of Jalandhar-Leh power transmission line and install transmission towers in the rough terrain of Pir Panjal ranges.
The legislators in the last Assembly session cornered the Power Department for its failure to complete the grid stations and electricity transmission lines in the state.
However, sources within the PDD, said that department had sought tenders multiple times for completion of Alastang-Mirbazaar transmission line. In 2012, the cost of the tender was set up Rs 45 crore. After the government did not receive any interest from contractors, recently it did retendering at the same cost of Rs 45 crore. The completion period has been set up 18 years. "How it possible is that project is completed by December end when the time period has been set up 18 months in tenders," the PDD official said.
A senior PDD official however said that project is expected to be completed by the end of this year. |
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