Yet on one more front JK Power Development Corporation has performed so miserably that it has cost the State exchequer loss of crores of rupees. The new area in which the said Corporation has shown poor record is in that of repair and maintenance of a number of Hydroelectric Projects (HEP) of the State. Production of hydro electric power is a system that requires regular repair and maintenance. For this item there is also fund allocation and the question of paucity of funds does not arise.
Should the media tell the Power Development Corporation what its duty is? Should it be the task of the media to remind the Corporation that there is wear and tear in the mechanical system and that has to be repaired in time so that it does not graduate into big snag? There are a number of projects that have developed some defect from the very beginning and these defects could not be removed. Even at one time the Corporation requisitioned the services of an expert at a cost of about 4 lakh rupees and still the snag could not be removed. Are our engineers so ill experienced and incompetent to surrender to a technical fault and declare it irreparable? Be it the Chenani Hydroelectric Renovation, Modernization and Upgrading project, or Unit-I and Unit-II of Pahalgam HEP or Stakna Power Project of Leh, there is one or the other problem of repair and maintenance with them which the Corporation has not been able to overcome. Neither, the power generating capacity has been increased nor have the shut down electronic parts been replaced and the money remains locked up in the coffers of the Corporation. This is nothing but just hoodwinking the people with impunity and having no qualms of conscience about what losses the State suffers. We do not have information whether the officers at the helm of affairs are supposed to ask for regular reports from subordinates as to what repairs are needed to made and action taken thereof. An inspection team could be constituted to pay regular visits to premier power generating units and examine and report their proper functionality certificate to the higher authority’s including the Minister for Power. After all, some accountability has to be there. It cannot be free for all and that the authorities cannot just think of allowing things to drift anywhere and everywhere.
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