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| Of power woes and 20,000 MW rhetoric | | |
NIRBHAY JAMMUAL
People in Jammu and Kashmir may not remember the names of the rivers that flow in the state but they have not forgotten that the state has rich water resources and has identified potential of generating 20,000 MWs of electricity. Why so? It is the result of repeated announcements from the successive state Governments, right from GM Shah to Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Ghulam Nabi Azad to Omar Abdullah. We have heard them saying that Jammu and Kashmir has the capacity of generating 20,000 MWs of electricity. See the irony. So far a mere 1560 MWs under the central sector and 758.70 MWs under the state sector have been harnessed. If people are likely to suffer the ordeals of power shortage from the end of the current month they are not to be blamed. The demand does not keep pace with availability of power.
Well people in the state cannot be faulted for this. Even the successive state Governments cannot be held solely responsible for chronic electricity shortage. There are two main villains in the power crisis saga. One is the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 which provides for certain restrictions on Jammu and Kashmir for utilising the water resources for power generation and irrigation. Whenever the state Government and the centre formulated a hydel power project on one of the three rivers. the Indus, the Chenab and the Jehlum, Islamabad raised spikes. The Pakistan Water Commission authorities rake up the issue of violation of the Treaty. The result has been inordinate delay in the completion of the hydel projects. Those who do not believe me should focus their attention to Uri and Bhagliar projects. These two projects could be completed after a decade's delay. In case of Bhagliar the Pakistan Water Commission experts visited the site thrice. The Indian experts tried to explain to them the design of the project with the purpose of removing their fears about violation of the Treaty. They were not satisfied. Pakistan referred the case to the IMF.A Swiss engineer was appointed as arbitrator. India won the case though slight modifications in the design of the Bhagliar project had to be carried out.
Second obstacle is the bad management. The state Government has no funds for construction of mini and medium hydel power projects. Things would have been sorted out had the centre agreed to compensate the losses Jammu and Kashmir state suffered owing to the Indus Water Treaty. When the National Conference was in power between 1996 and 2002 it had made an assessment of the annual losses in lieu of the Indus Water Treaty. It had submitted a memorandum to the centre requesting it to compensate the annual loss of Rs.6,000 crores because of the limitations imposed by the Treaty on the utilisation of water resources for power generation and irrigation. There was no response. The plea for compensation was repeated by the Government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Instead of compensating the losses the centre agreed to earmark Rs.1300 crores for purchase of additional electricity from the national grid.This way the Mufti led Government had succeeded in reducing the power curtailment period from nine hours a day to three to four hours a day.
Once again Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has suggested to the centre to transfer Dhul Hasti power project from the central to the state sector. So far there has been no response from the centre. Yet another problem is the way lopsided hydel schemes were being formulated. Over the years it has been seen that Uri Phase, which has a capacity of generating 400 MWs of electricity, produces 24 per cent of the installed capacity during the winter months because of very low water level in the river Jehlum. If it is so what justification the experts have for setting up Uri phase two project. Instead of wasting resources the experts should have laid emphasis on micro and mini-power projects which could have the supply sources from streams and runnels.
If one blames Pakistan for trying to create problems for Jammu and Kashmir in resolving power shortage one is not to be blamed. See over the years Pakistan has opposed, tooth and nail, the plan of Jammu and Kashmir Government for construction of resevoirs. These reservoirs could feed the power projects with water during the lean months. Possibly Pakistani experts believe that water supplied to Pakistan after using it for power generation is like handing over a raped woman for marriage. They are to be told that the energy in water does not get lost when it is utilised for power generation. Come summer Government is as much bothered by the power crisis as people in the Jammu region. Come winter the state administration is as much bothered by the electricity shortage as men and women in Kashmir. The Government is bothered but it has no cut and dried formula for resolving the 40-year old botheration. Mere slogans and statements may not solve power problem. Design and decide. Never delay tackling the problem on a war footing.
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