Srinagar, Jan 27: While Jammu and Kashmir has become a major hydro-energy generator for National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), it gets negligible employment opportunities in the Corporation-run projects in the State despite an agreement over job share approved by the Union Power Ministry.
Despite the State ridden with unemployment, the successive regimes in J&K have remained silent on the issue of ensuring adequate employment in NHPC.
At present, the Corporation is operating four power projects in J&K - Salal, Uri-I, Dulhasti and Sewa- with cumulative energy capacity of 1650 MW. It is going to operationalize another seven projects in coming few years.
On July 20, 2000, the State Government headed by Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and the then Union Power Minister signed a Memorandum of Understanding for execution of seven hydroelectric projects in the State. According to the MoU “the requirement for group C & D posts in the projects will be met by NHPC through local employment exchanges of J&K. For group A & B posts, 30 percent personnel will be taken by NHPC on deputation from the J&K Government.”
“The Union Power Ministry and NHPC have not implemented any agreement whether on State‘s employment share or power share from the projects,” said Minister for Irrigation, Taj Mohi-ud-Din.
“We will be taking up the issue of State’s employment share in Uri-II, Sewa, Nimoo Bazgoo and Chutak,” Taj said.
A cursory look at the statistics show that while Executive Director Jammu region O P Thakur is from Himachal Pradesh, General Manager Salal project is from Uttar Pradesh. The GMs Uri-I, Uri-II, Kishenganga and Chief Engineers Nimoo Buzgoo (Leh), Chutuk (Kargil) are all non-state subjects. Only Chief Engineer Sewa and GM Dulhasti are locals. Even the subordinate engineering staff employed in these projects are non-state subjects.
“Besides, the local manpower in projects like Kishenganga, Uri-II, Bursar, Sewa-II Pakal Dul, Nimoo Bazgo and Chutak is almost negligible,” said civil society activist Bashir Asad.
At the top level the Corporation has an Executive Board with composition of a Chairman and four full-time Directors. None of them is from the State which contributes more than 32 percent of the Corporation’s annual revenue.
The NHPC’s Executive Director, (Regional), Jeetandra Singh said there is no agreement on providing J&K any employment in the projects which are presently generating energy here.
However, he said the Corporation has employed “maximum” local manpower for class C&D posts in the upcoming seven projects. He said the State has to send 30 percent of employees on deputation for class A&B posts in these projects during construction phase only. “It is not applicable for maintenance and operation phase. But the State Government is not deputing the staff. We have written to them on number of occasions in the past,” he said.
Not long ago, a large base of manpower from the State was employed in NHPC projects at construction and other levels. In 1978 when the Corporation was set up and started its operations in J&K more than 80 percent of its engineering staff was drawn from the State. That time a State subject was holding the post of Director Technical in NHPC.
Among the engineering staff the locals included PN Kahra, SP Sharma, KP Singh, KS Singh, HL Hashia, Mr Khazanchi, PL Suri, P Khajuria, SK Parooj, JPS Jowhar, Sardar Harvaans Singh, MK Kawa, JS Jamwal, KBS Jamwal, MS Jamwal, RPS Jamwal, R Kaiser, CP Khajuria, DK Gupta. Most of them were engaged in construction works.
In 1983 hundreds of officials including the engineering staff were working on direct pay roles or deputation at construction level in the projects. During late ’70s the NHPC Chairman was a State subject.
While Taj Mohi-ud-Din said Jammu and Kashmir has been discriminated against in employment, a Cabinet subcommittee which was constituted last year to revisit the pacts between NHPC and the State is learnt to have remained silent on the issue in its voluminous report.
The Committee was headed by Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather with Taj as one of its members. “The report focuses on return of the power projects to the State and position of NHPC vis-a-vis their ownership claim,” Taj said.
“We have not only been robbed of our hydro water resources through international treaties and exploitation at local level, but our employment opportunities are being squeezed,” said Asad.

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