Power Battle

The exploitation of state’s water resources by National Hydro-electric Power Corporation has again stirred a hornet’s nest in the Valley. It is not just the main opposition party, PDP, which has joined the chorus, the entire civil society has got its act together to press for return of NHPC-run hydle projects in J&K to the state. The demand is not bereft of merit. There are more than enough legal, constitutional and statutory provisions entitling J&K to secure the power projects currently run by NHPC. It is no secret that the projects raised under BOOT were supposed to be transferred to the state after the cost had been recovered by the operator. But that has not happened due both to state’s inability to assert its right and central government’s bias favoring NHPC. Curiously, at a seminar on Monday in Srinagar organisd by the civil society members, senior Peoples Democratic Party leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig made a significant legal proposition saying that NHPC was “unconstitutionally” and “illegally” controlling different power projects in J&K. Although it is a different matter that the PDP itself when it was in power could not wrest the projects from the NHPC, it does not make the argument week. According to Baig the Constitution provides that only the President can write to any state “requesting” for land from it for use by the Center. But in case of the power projects in JK these constitutional provisions have not been followed. Minister for PHE, Taj Mohiuddin in the seminar claimed that the NHPC possessed no agreement, lease deed or even a paper signed by the JK government pertaining to the projects under it. Constitutionally it means that the corporation is “illegally” controlling projects in J&K. If the government and the opposition are on the same page on this important issue as one could gauge from their statements, there should be no hitch for the state to press for the return of power projects particularly when the entire civil society is whole-heartedly supporting the move.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 11 Oct 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:00:00 IST



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