Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 22: Taking a strong exception to the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s claim that State Government spends more on power purchase than the amount realized from consumers in Jammu and Kashmir, the CPI (M) State Secretary Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said the much hyped half-left contemplation on return of power projects from the NHPC, a complete inertia in terms of initiatives to start new power projects and controlling the huge Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses are responsible for the electricity crisis in the State.
In a Statement issued here today, the CPI (M) leader said that Government was not doing any favour to people of the State by purchasing power on whatever market rates available to it. “Now if the Government cries hoarse being not able to realize the revenue from the domestic and commercial consumers in the State; who is to be blamed for this administrative ineptitude,” Tarigami asked.
Referring to dismal revenue recovery and the Transmission, Distribution losses of over 68 per cent in Kashmir and over 49 per cent in Jammu last year, the CPI (M) leader said the Government seems in deep slumber vis-à-vis addressing the shortage of manpower in the Power Development Depar-tment. “The PDD is facing acute shortage of manpower for manning the power infrastructure in the State. Around 6000 posts are lying vacant in the department in all categories. These include gazetted, non-gazetted and class 1V posts categories. Why the Government has not filled these posts which are an essential component of revenue recovery section,” he stressed.
He said, “half-hearted exercise on return of power projects, inability to control T&D losses, and inability to increase power generational capacity responsible for power mess.”
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