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Govt promises on power remain unfulfilled
1/8/2012 12:00:55 AM
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Jan 7: Whenever the state of Jammu and Kashmir witnessed peoples 'uproar over acute power crisis they would be silenced by the successive Governments by telling them that the state had a potential of generating 20,000 MWs of electricity. Whenever the state witnessed protest demonstrations against power shedding people would be consoled by telling them that the Government will initiate measures for persuading Pakistan to review the Indus Water Treaty of 1960.
Whenever people raised their voice against power shortage they were told by the successive state Governments that had not the Indus Water Treaty prevented the Government from carrying out optimum utilisation of its water resources, especially those from the river Jehlum, Chenab and the Indus, the state would have been self-sufficient in electricity.
Yes, under the Indus Water Treaty India has to seek permission from Pakistan for building new power projects on the Jehlum, the Indus and the Chenab. But the Government has simply deceived people in the name of the Indus Water Treaty. The Treaty has not imposed so much restrictions that the Government has not been able to produce more than 2400 MWs of power during the last 52 years' of the Treaty of 1960.
During the last one year the state Government is trying to assuage the ruffled feelings of people by telling them that "we will be charging money from the NHPC for water usage on power generation and that money would be spent on purchasing additional power from the Northern grid."
Having found that this trick has not been acceptable to people the Government has started making loud claims on getting two major power projects, Salal and Uri, from the NHPC. People are told that once these two projects are back with the state Government "We would be utilising within the state the entire power generated from these projects without sharing even a single MW with the NHPC."
One question remains to be answered. Will the weak financial health of the state allow it to pay about Rs. 3,000 crores to the NHPC for buying back the two power projects? Certainly not. The fiscal status of the state will not be able to purchase the NHPC projects even at depreciated rates without financial assistance from the Government of India.
If Jammu and Kashmir has been in the grip of acute power shortage during the last 25 years it is because of bad planning. Since the state's weak financial resources do not allow it to go in for construction of major power projects it should have utilised its resources and energy on building a chain of micro power projects.
The idea of setting up micro or mini power projects had been conceived in late 70's and in this connection the then Minister, late G.M. Shah had headed a team of experts who visited China for studying the designs and the concept of mini power projects. On the return of the team 40 spots had been identified for setting up mini and micro power projects.
However, not more than four such projects have been born during the last 24 years. It is intriguing as to why the state Government did not make over 900 mini and micro power projects, with one to three MW capacity, set up by the Army under its operations Sadhbhavna, functional. People need to be told whether keeping these mini power projects functional was the duty of the Army or of the state Government.
If not anything else the state Government should takeover these projects and make them functional or persuade the Ministry of Defence to keep these projects power generating units. If either of the two alternatives were tried a large number of remote and farflung areas in the state would be able to receive uninterrupted power supply.
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