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| BJP divided over return of power projects to JK | | State says yes, Centre no | | Saqib Junaid
Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, June 18: The BJP in the centre and party's state unit leaders seem to be divided over return of power projects to Jammu and Kashmir.
Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh in a written reply said on Saturday in the Legislative Assembly that transfer of power projects is an important part of the developmental agenda of the BJP-PDP coalition government. "As stated in the Agenda of Alliance, in order to address the real source of JK's fiscal problem and paving way for making JK a fiscally autonomous state, the state will explore modalities for transfer of Dulhasti and Uri hydro power projects to J&K as suggested by the Rangaranjan Committee."
However, a month back, Union Minister for Power, Coal and Renewable Energy, Piyush Goyal, ruled out transfer of hydro-power projects to the state and refused to increase the power share of the state from the projects run by National Hydropower Project Corporation (NHPC) in Jammu and Kashmir.
When asked about return of two power projects as promised by the PDP-BJP coalition in Agenda of Alliance, Goyal told reporters during a press conference through Video Conference from New Delhi, that the states put forward lot of demands before the Centre and it is not necessary that every demand is translated into decision. "States put forward lot of demands before the Centre and every demand is not translated into decision," he has said.
While his senior state leader Nirmal Singh, who is also the power minister of the Jammu and Kashmir, said the state will work-out with the Centre to secure a share of NHPC emanating from JK waters to the state government.
While the union power minister has said that these power projects are held by listed companies and the power share of 12 per cent is same across the country for all the states and is given across the country as per norms of the private companies.
Goyal has said that no state can be given a special category in profit share. "Share in profit is given to the stakeholders. There can be no separate profit share for different States in the country. No State can have a special category in share of the profits from the hydropower projects," he said.
Earlier in last month Finance minister Haseeb Drabu said that the process is on to get back some power projects from the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) to the state.
"The budget focuses more on the power scenario as the state over the decades has paid huge losses in the power sector. Power projects back is not like visiting New Delhi and asking them to hand over this project, as the perception among the people has been created. There is a proper procedure to bring back the power projects under NHPC. It can't happen overnight. But it will happen anytime as some modalities have been worked out," Drabu has said in a press conference here.
When asked the union power minister recently stated that no power project will be handed over to J&K state, Drabu said it is between the state and the Central government. "The union power minister is my good friend, but he is entitled to his own view. We have worked out on various things," he has said.
The return of the NHPC power projects to the state has been mentioned in the "Agenda of Alliance" -- the framework for governance for the two coalition partners. To restitch the alliance with the BJP, the PDP took around three months, seeking the BJP's assurances on confidence-building measures, including return of power projects. |
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