CM’s gesture
The Government has taken due note of power crisis in the State caused by several factors but more alarmingly by the delayed monsoon rains. There have been demonstrations by people at various places against shortfall in power supply. But the Chief Minister, who is also holding the portfolio of Power, has taken due note of the difficulties of people, especially during the hot summer, and taken the decision of sanctioning 200 crore rupees to PDD for purchasing additional 250 MW power to bolster power supply deficit. This may seem a temporary measure to overcome immediate shortage but it is a step to bring relief to the people and especially to the farmers who need to irrigate fields by power pumps in absence of rains. No doubt it is an additional burden on the State exchequer but the Government fully conscious of its responsibilities has taken the emergency step. It underscores the sense of urgency and responsibility of the administration. Sanctioning 200 crore rupees to overcome power shortage raises the budgetary expenditure of PDD to 3400 crore rupees for the financial year 2012-13 which is nearly three hundred crore more than what had been sanctioned in the annual plan. As against this PDD’s estimated revenue for the fiscal year 2012-13 is 1,000 crore rupees. Thus the State is under the burden of 2400 crore rupees. Naturally the scenario is not a happy one and the Government shall have to find out means to fill the gap between supply and demand.
There is substantial loss of power on two counts. One is on account of transmission system and the second is pilferage on a large scale. As regards transmission losses, the Chief Minister has sanctioned 12 crore rupees for repair of electric lines and other necessary changes that would bolster power supply. A safe method of reducing transmission losses is that of laying transmission lines underground. But that would incur enormous expenditures and the PDD is not yet in a position to shift to underground wiring. Therefore the existing system needs to be improved and streamlined. It is for this purpose that a sum of 12 crore rupees has been specifically sanctioned by the CM. Though this is only a small sum and the need is many times bigger, yet the more urgent repairing can be undertaken and relief brought to the people who have been suffering on this count.
But the pilferage of power is something for which the conscience of civil society needs to be awakened and jolted. We believe that not only the PDD and the Government but the civil society including peoples’ representatives have a major role in addressing this problem. No doubt the Government will do its duty of enforcing law and order in this regard or punishing the law beakers, but since it is a public affair, the civil society has greater responsibility to perform. Awareness camps should be organized and more importantly consumers who use illegal means for stealing power and causing losses to the State exchequer should be exposed and socially segregated. Tampering with electronic meters is a crime and any consumer found tampering with the meter must be dealt with according to the law. After all, the law enforcing agency cannot close its eyes to something that affects a vast majority of people. The Government is determined to complete 100 per cent installation of electronic meters and with that pilferage will come down considerably. There is again the question mark on the entire system of purchasing, installing and maintaining the transformers. If transformers are damaged owing to more than approved load, a quick survey of the locality has to be made by the approved staff. It will show who the defaulters are who should be brought to book.
PDD is also looking into why we have about 45 per cent damage rate of transformers while in the rest of the country it is hardly 2.5 per cent? Our power woes do not end with that. In a decision of serious financial implications, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has directed the Jammu and Kashmir Government to liquidate its outstanding power dues worth nearly Rs 640 crore. This backlog has mostly come to the door steps of the present Government from the previous one which had drawn extra power from the national power grid. State authorities are worried how to liquidate this huge outstanding amount in case the Commission is not ready to accept the plea of PDD of paying it in ten instalments. In final analysis, the State Government is tackling the power problem with all seriousness but the Centre shall have to understand our difficulties and take a realistic and sympathetic view of the situation.
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