We claim that our State is gifted with huge water resources and we are capable of producing 20,000 MW of electricity if we put all the water resources to use. There is a big gap between what one may aspire and what actually is achievable. Just possessing large water resource does not mean that we have to be self sufficient. Building a hydroelectric power station has many pre-requisites. We have power deficit and we purchase power from the national power grid. But at the same time we need to steadily build our capacity for becoming self-sufficient at some point of time. This needs determination and perseverance. The State cannot claim that it is pursuing power generating policy in an effective manner. Take the case of 850 Mega Watt Ratle Hydroelectric Project on river Chenab in Kishtwar district, which was supposed to be the first ever power project in Jammu and Kashmir to be completed in shortest possible time because of varied reasons. It was planned to be developed as a run-of-the river project and this was the first power project in the country which was awarded on tariff based international competitive bidding process for development on Built-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis for a period of 25 years. The foundation stone of this project was laid by the then Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh on June 25, 2013, to be completed by February 2018. Three years have gone by, the project remains neglected. The more painful thing is that even in two years of PDP-BJP government, the Power Minister did not find time to pay even a cursory visit to the site and examine what had gone wrong with this vital project which was thought to become the source of progress and change in the entire Chenab Valley. The main contractors of the project M/s GVK Power and sub-contractor Larsen and Toubro brought many complaints to the notice of the Government that concerned agencies were not cooperating, but the bureaucracy took no notice, ultimately forcing the contractors to wind up and abandon the project. We recognize the role of bureaucracy in running the administration of the State, but bureaucracy is not the organ that decides the future plans and programme of vital developmental projects of the State. That is the job of the Council of Ministers and the people’s representatives. Abandoning the vital project of Ratle is most unfortunate and at the same time, also a reflection on the dedication of the elected representatives. We learn there are vested interests in the area that have made the project a source of pecuniary benefit to them and that political interference in the construction has been the main cause of the contractors abandoning it. We would suggest that an inquiry is ordered into the case to show under which circumstances the contractors had to abandon the project. This would be the first step in the revival of the project and would also become the guideline for future.
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