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| Cabinet decision to buy back NHPC projects? | | | ET Report
Jammu, Feb 17: The State cabinet's approval of the cabinet sub-committee report for buying back the hydel power projects from NHPC is a welcome decision, but its exact implementation would only determine the seriousness of the decision.
The State government has been hyping the taking over of the hydel power projects in the state ever since the public debate over the sharing of the generated electric power by NHPC owned projects started. Jammu and Kashmir has been incurring a whooping sum of Rs. 2000 crores annually on the purchase of electricity from the country's northern Power Grid. A financially poor State like ours cannot afford such an extravaganza for long as all developmental works, employment avenues and salaries of the government employees would finally come to a halt because of the expenditure on purchase of electric power by the State.
The rationale behind the decision to buy back power generating projects from the NHPC is well taken, but the real problem is where from would the huge amount of money be arranged by the State government to make such an ambition purchase? Would the State government create another unmanageable financial burden by raising a loan to buy the power projects from the NHPC? Added to this riddle is the fact that the NPHC has categorically refused to sell its existing hydel power projects in J&K.
Given the hurdles in the way, it is quite possible that the State government may get entangled in a long legal battle with the NHPC which would create more problems than solve them.
The State government has announced a new power policy according to which private entrepreneurs would be allowed to construct power projects in the State. Instead of allowing bigger power projects with mega investments, there is a policy shift towards lesser investment attracting smaller power projects in the State.
The decision to buy back the power projects from the NHPC would also have to get clearance from the central government as such an ambitious purchase plan would have to be cleared by the central government since NHPC owns power projects not just in J&K, but in other states of the country also. The State government's decision to buy back the power projects would have a direct bearing on the ownership of the NPHC projects in other parts of the country as well.
The funding for such an ambitious purchase, plus the reluctance of the NPHC to part with the ownership of its projects in J&K are hurdles the state government would have to overcome successfully before the idea is transformed into reality.
There have been questions about the water usage charges by the NHPC to the state government. There have been questions about the memo of understanding between the state government and the NPHC which was signed when the NHPC was given the go ahead for the constructions of these power projects in the state. The latest decision of the state cabinet needs to be closely watched with regard to its implementation on the ground and the time it takes to implement the decision. The proof of the pudding lies in its eating. |
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