Power Problem It would be one of the prime responsibilities of the new dispensation to find a solution to this problem With the onset of winter, the supply of electricity is curtailed in Kashmir. When the secretariat moves to Jammu the problem becomes graver. Even as the government claims to have invested substantially in the power sector in past some years, so far only a little amount of energy has been added to the total generation in the state sector in Jammu and Kashmir while the demand has recorded a steep and sustained increase. With the expansion of trade and commerce and a substantial portion of population in the state switching over to new technologies run on electricity, the demand for energy is bound to increase manifold in the coming years. In such a scenario, the ideal solution to the power problem would be development of large scale projects in the state. But the question remains, can a state like Jammu and Kashmir, which is beset with acute financial constrains afford to build such projects entailing huge investment of its own? The power projects developed in the central sector in Jammu and Kashmir have proved of little advantage to the state. With a meager percentage of royalty given to the state, these projects have actually added to the financial strength of a particular central government owned corporation. Even as equity demands that such projects in the central sector developed under ‘build-operate-transfer’ mechanism in Jammu and Kashmir should have been handed over to the state so as to allow it to enjoy at least some fruits of its natural endowments and enable it to deal with its energy problems, promises on this count have proved a mirage. Resultantly, the state is finding itself in a tight spot when it comes to solving its power problems. With the state presently in elections and a new government likely to take office in a month’s time, it would be one of the prime responsibilities of the new dispensation to find a solution to this problem. All talk of economic development is useless, unless the state is in a position to deal with its power problems. Power is strength and no state can really expect its trade and industry flourish and its society prosper unless it gives them the energy. Let us keep our fingers crossed.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 07:24:07 +0000
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