Shortage of power and recurrent cuts year after year has made people of the state fed up with Power Development Department. This Department has been at the receiving end for its faults or no faults. Successive ministers in charge of power portfolio have been making tall promises of relief to consumers by brandishing one or the other scheme or project claiming it would change the entire scenario. All these promises and expectations have belied the people and the condition of power supply is nowhere near accomplishment. Obviously electricity being the life line for modern society, people would not take recourse to logic and rationality while heaping layers of accusation against the PDD. The crux of the matter is funds and visionary administration and implementation. Enormous funds are needed to be invested in power generating projects. Funds don’t come that easy. We are gifted by nature with huge water resources but that makes little sense if we have not the resources to harness it and produce sufficient electricity to meet our needs and to export it to other states and earn handsome revenue. There are hundred and one complicacies and obstructions, some inherent in power generating projects as a matter of principle and some are manmade.
Nevertheless, the Governments have been trying to overcome the problem of power shortage and various mechanisms are in place to improve supply position. Among other mechanisms, one important plan is that of connecting the State to Northern Power Grid where from power is supplied to the State at present. This is through Jullandhar-Jammu-Srinagar 440 KV power transmission line. Presently, there is lone connectivity and as such the State Government has been approaching the Union Ministry of Power for setting up another 440 KV transmission line so that the state has not the compulsion of depending on the only one line.
It is heartening to know that the Union Power Ministry has given its nod to the laying of alternate 440 KV transmission line from Jallandhar to Jammu to Srinagar along the Mughal Road that passes for the larger distance through the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch.
Adopting the Mughal Road route for installation of second transmission line has many benefits. It provides alternate connectivity to the Northern Grid in case one line is disrupted as did happen some years back with entire Kashmir plunging into darkness for many days. Secondly, it will improve power supply position in the State and there will be few power cuts. It will boost industrial enterprise and support State’s economy. More importantly it will be highly beneficial to two Border states of Poonch and Rajouri which have been suffering for want of power for decades. At present Rajouri-Poonch is having network of 132 KV transmission line but following completion of this project the twin border districts would be able to have 220 KV power stations like the one which is being constructed at Siot.
However to be precise, this project is actually meant to ensure power connectivity with the Northern Grid and does not promise either to increase the quantum of power or guarantee no cuts at all. Even ensuring connectivity is linked to a number of conditions like maintenance of transmission line, rapid restoration or fault repairing mechanism and periodical inspections of transmission towers to make sure that inclement weather, high speed winds and snow storms and blizzard do not damage the transmission line and if there are damages, these are repaired as fast as possible.
We will raise another point in the course of this discussion. Our experience is that work on most of major projects is suspended half way for various reasons especially for non- release or delayed release of funds. The contractors are fed up with red tape where payments are to go through the official labyrinthine. If that happens, there is little sense in feeling jubilant on floating of the scheme. Therefore all the parties concerned, the government, the contractors and the authorities of the Northern Grid have to join heads and make the terms of the contract as clear and unambiguous as possible so that disputes and complicacies are avoided. We understand that work at Jallandhar has begun and the laying of transmission line for the entire sector will be completed in three years. Let us hope the time line is maintained.
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