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| 14 years on, Power Development Corporation without service rules | | | Salman Nizami
JAMMU JULY 24: Fourteen years after establishment of the Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation, the successive governments have virtually failed to achieve the objectives of attaining self-sufficiency in the power generation. Ironically, the Corporation has not framed its service rules, thereby debarring it from having a permanent staff and also denying its employees the necessary benefits.
Interestingly, as against a potential of 20,000-MW, the state presently generates
40 MW from Salal project having power potential of 690 MW, 480 MW from Uri Power project, 450 MW from Baglihar hydro electric power project, 400 MW from Dulhasti power project, 220 MW from Upper sindh and 105 MW from lower Jhelum hydro power project. The failure to tap the resource is largely attributed to the successive governments’ lack of interest to empower the Corporation.
The Corporation was carved out of the Power Development Department in 1995. Sources said that in 14 years there have been only a few managing directors who completed one year term of office in the corporation. Presently, the corporation is technically without a managing director as the Commissioner Secretary Power is himself holding the additional charge. Sources said there has been constant campaign by the ‘vested interests’ to undermine the capability of the Corporation to exploit huge resources of the state.
Currently, it is running Upper Sindh and Lower Jhelum, with a generation of 220 and 105 Mega Watts respectively. “The projects were highly specialized and if we could develop such projects in eighties, we can establish bigger projects on our own,” said a senior official who worked with the salal Hydro Electric project.”
.“Jammu engineers have played vital role in developing 690 mw Salal Hydro Electric project” he added.
Most of the employees are on deputation with a few people engaged permanently with the Corporation. “The Corporation earns in crores and it still gets employees from the different departments,” said an official of the Power Department. “Ironically, they are shifted back after learning functional skills.”
In contrast, the other Corporations including the NHPC have a permanent staff and a promotion policy. “People in JKSPDC are even denied dislocation allowances while serving in remote area,” said an official.
The Minister of state for power Shabir Ahmed Khan who took charge of the department recently, did not deny any thing and said . “Yes, there are people on deputations, there is the problem of lack of incentives,” the minister said. “We have hired consultancy service of a reputed company, which would give report about re-structuring of the corporation. It has been formed on an old pattern and we want to give it a modern outlook.”
He said that the corporation should have its own employees with proper set of rules in place for promotions which should be on the basis of performance.
He said that capacity of the corporation and the consultancy group was working towards on the project. They would give recommendations to the government which would be given a serious thought.
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