Rajouri, Apr 16: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti Monday said that the power crisis in the state was the outcome of misgovernance.
 Reacting to the indication of more power curtailments “due to high T&D losses” in the state by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, on the other day, the PDP President said that more than its economics the down turn in power scenario is a direct result of “mis-governance, wrong priorities and inefficient management of the state by the present government”.
 Addressing a public meeting, here, Mehbooba said the continuing deterioration in power supply in the state is only one  index of the over all performance of the NC led government  that has “pushed the state back by decades on development and political fronts”.
 “If between 2002 and 2008 power situation could be drastically improved, transmission losses reduced and power sector reforms carried on  how and why has electricity become unavailable immediately after Omar Abdullah took over?” , she asked.
 She said this has happened in spite of the fact that the state has added about  500 Mega watts to its power resource with the inception of Baglihar and many micro hydel projects taken up by the previous government. “Management of power sector is something more than wheeling dealing in mega projects and making hollow announcements. It is about providing light and energy to people who shiver in sub zero temperatures and sweat in scorching heat”, she remarked.
 Mehbooba said the recently published report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has exposed the reasons for the failure of the government in providing amenities to the people including power, drinking water, sanitation facilities and roads. She said though we had been saying this for long the CAG report has confirmed the worst fears about the functioning of the NC led coalition that has resulted in a governance paralysis and developmental holiday.
 She said the CAG report has made it clear that government has spent hundreds of crores of rupees without any authorization by the legislature. This money has been spent in complete disregard to financial code only to pay for those works that had been carried out by the ruling politicians through their favourite contractors who are allotted works without the normal tendering process.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:00:00 IST