Himalayan News Service

New Delhi, April 22:

Slow decisions and scaled down funds will hit India’s plans to produce an additional 100,000 mega watt (MW) of power between 2002 and 2012, feels a parliamentary panel. The shortfall in capacity addition would adversely impact India’s target of providing power to all by 2012. The current generation capacity of 116,245 mega watt is woefully short of peak demand. India has estimated a requirement of 200,000 mega watt by 2012 to ensure power supply. In addition to capacity addition, India is taking steps to improve power transmission and distribution to plug thefts and promote power conservation. “With the reduced annual outlay and utilisation during the first three years of the 10th Plan (from 2002 to 2007), the targets set for capacity addition of 41,000 mega watt has already been revised to 36,956 mega watt,” the standing committee on energy attached to the power ministry has stated in its report to parliament.

“The committee feels that the plan of the government for 100,000 mega watt of fresh capacity

addition by the end of 11th Plan (starting from 2007 to 2012) will thus seem to be impossible,”

the report states further. Among several instances cited for delays in approval of new schemes, upsetting plans and leading to imbalanced utilisation of funds, are non-approval of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) scheme for preparation of detailed project reports (DPRs) of new hydro-electric schemes and a feasibility report for 100,000 mega watt environment friendly thermal initiative.

All this has led to $18.8 million worth of reduction in outlays for power projects. The committee has expressed unhappiness over government failure to take note of its

recommendations ‘to formulate realistic plans’. While the central government allocation, including budgetary support, for the power sector has been hiked substantially during the 10th Plan period as against the Ninth Plan (1997-2002), the report notes that it is still inadequate to meet the demands. While the power ministry has taken up the matter of higher fund allocation with the finance ministry, the committee feels that budgetary constraints would

adversely impact hydel projects of the National Hydroelectric Power Corp and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd. To take care of the slippages in the 10th Plan, the power ministry has identified 7,999.52 mega watt additional back up projects to achieve the target of 41,000 mega watt by 2007, which at present seems a distant dream.