Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 16: Jammu and Kashmir may boast to be most fortunate State in the sense that it has been showered with lot of potential for tourism and hydel power generation with beautiful mountains, sky touching peaks, lakes and lush green valleys to attract tourists and big rivers to generate electricity on its own but unfortunately this God gifted potential of natural resources has not been explored to the required level during last 70 years.
This was stated by BJP State spokesperson, Balbir Ram Rattan, while holding the past Governments responsible for the present crisis of electricity in the State, which did nothing to explore the full potential of generating electricity during 70 years. How serious these Governments were towards producing electricity in the State can be well judged from the available figures which claim of having the capacity of generating 20 thousand Mega Watts of power but not even one thousand MWs could be explored as against demand of 3200 MWs in the State, he added.
Balbir said this also caused a loss of eight per cent in the annual budget to compensate for importing electricity and meet the distribution & transmission losses.
He said that it is the prerogative of the State Government to approach the Union Government with the proposal for any project and seek funding for the same but nothing such approach was seen, which resulted into wastage of the waters during all these years.
“Had there been no 370 and Union Government enjoying the authority to exercise its powers, the State would have become self sufficient in producing electricity and even export the surplus production, thus generating income as well. This could not happen as the Article 370 was the main hurdle for direct interference in the matters of State but it is now a matter of satisfaction that the new UT will be free from the clutches of handful of people, who worked to satisfy self interests and pushed the State towards backwardness and under development.
Balbir expressed hope that the new dispensation in ‘Post- 370 Abrogation Era’ would utilize the full potential of power generation to construct Hydel Power Projects and make us self reliant.
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