In his address to a public rally in Kishtwar, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has unfolded his government’s plans and projects for holistic development of the region. Developmental plan envisages various aspects from education, employment, power development to road connectivity and harnessing of solar energy. The CM essentially focused on the question of return of three major power generating projects of Dul Hasti, Salal and Uri to the State Government. This has become a contentious issue between the State Government and the NHPC, an important PSU of the Central Government.
NHPC is the main agency that has provided about half a dozen hydropower generating projects to the State including the three mentioned above. Despite these efforts the gap between power purchase and revenue generation in the State has been widening year after year and has touched nearly 2500 crore rupees something which the State is not in a position to bear any more. Water is the mainstay of State’s economy and the Chief Minister was very candid in saying that injustice had been done to the State when the Indus Water Treaty was signed between India and Pakistan but without obtaining the consent and opinion of the State Government. The result is that the State is denied the reasonable benefits it would have drawn from its water resources. The NHPC has completed the projects and the time has come when the State should be allowed to draw full benefit from its water resource. The CM is determined not to sanction any more power projects to NHPC unless it returns the three projects back to the State. This was his government’s decision and he would see to it that this policy is not reversed.
The fact of the matter is that the state is starved of power while power alone has the potential of changing the economic health of the State as a whole. This has been explained by the CM by citing statistics. The State’s economic status can be viewed by the fact that it has a total annual income of Rs 6,500 crore from all sources and has to pay Rs 13,500 crore as salary to its employees and Rs 1,500 crore as pension, annually.”This makes me visit New Delhi time and again for financial support. To achieve this goal, harnessing of hydel power potential is only way out,” he added.
We think that the demand for return of three hydro-power projects to the State is more than justified in given circumstances. The Rangarajan Committee constituted by PMO has categorically stated that return of NHPC projects would strengthen economic health of the State. The team of interlocutors also made similar recommendation. There seems no point in the NHPC not getting reconciled to the return of the projects. In fact the Prime Minister and the Union Minister for Power should have taken the initiative on their own of offering back the projects to the State Government on its demand and the Chief Minister should not be forced to seek intervention of others in securing what is the right of the State. The CM had to adopt the extreme posture, perhaps against his wishes, of deciding not to give any new projects to NHPC unless his conditions are met. This is the reason why the four power projects on the anvil all based in Chenab Valley are being undertaken by the State Power Development Department for execution. These will provide employment to local people including local labour force. The Chief Minister is convinced that the State Government has the technical manpower to handle new projects and bring them to completion. This was understood by his reference to the launching of four important hydel power projects of Ratle, Packaldul, Kawar and Kiru sanctioned by his Government in the Chenab Valley. A major objective of the Government in demanding the return of hydropower projects is first to supplement power supply in the State and generate more revenue and second to provide employment opportunities to local skilled and non skilled people. At the same time the idea of public-private-partnership (PPP) will receive boost once these projects are handed over to the state. All these objectives are what the Central Government has been advocating for, and there is every reason for them to hasten the handing over of the projects to the State Government.
Chief Minister’s visit also brought good news to Kishtwar region in other ways as well. Fifty crore rupees have been sanctioned for supply of drinking water, three important road connections would be completed, 12000 more solar power units would be provided, foundation of university campus has been laid and education is expanded vertically as well as horizontally in the region.
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