Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 28: Emphasizing the great need for execution of the hydel power projects of J&K to put the State on the rails of progress and prosperity, the former Union Minister Prof. Chaman Lal Gupta has sought the exposition of the elements who scuttled the taking up of the working on the five major hydel power projects of this State for which an agreement had taken to place during Vajpayee led dispensation at the Centre and Kumara Mangalalam was the Minister for Energy.
“These five projects were estimated to cost about Rs 20 thousand crores to generate over two thousand Mega Watts of energy but instead of exploiting the hydel power potential of the State, the man in authority during all these years preferred to buy energy from outside and more than Rs 40 thousand crores have been spent to buy the power during all these years and the State is not only facing the power paucity problem but also over eight percent of the State budget is being drained with little tangible results, rather increased problems,” he said in a statement, issued here today.
Prof Gupta in this regard pointed out that adjoining State of Himachal Pradesh is having almost equal hydel power potential that of twenty thousand Mega Watts and has not only exploited the potential to meet their requirements but also selling the energy to other States and having gains to boost their fiscal position.
“The malady in J&K lies in the parochial mindset infected by the virus of separatism and little goal for sorting out the major problems facing the State,” he observed and also pointed out that the power losses are not only persisting but in certain areas the pilferage is as high as the recovery of the fees do not match even to the salaries of the employees deputed for distribution and supply of the energy to the consumers.
Pleading for improving the entire distribution system and bringing down the power losses, Prof Gupta stressed for opting the approach to end the vacillation to get executed schemes in a time bound manner instead of relying on imports of energy which are as high as about seventy percent of the total consumption badly affecting the vitals of the J&K State.
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