Editoria
Investment in power sector
Roadblocks should be removed
That donors may be shying away from investing in our power sector is definitely not good news, especially in view of the current energy scenario, both internal and external. According to some reports, funds earlier allocated for a power plant have already been diverted to the post-flood rehabilitation undertaking. And that too for problems which could largely have been avoided. Political interference, mismanagement and inordinate delays in getting a project on the roll -- are these something that we haven't heard before? Let's take some of the facts given by the government into account. First of all, at present power that is being generated is already 100 mw short of requirement. If the demand as projected increases by 459 mw each year, there will be a need for additional 300 mw of power to meet the demand by 2007. And the government says that $3.6 billion, a staggering amount, is required for generation, transmission and distribution of power by 2007. That is a huge task. In the last three years since taking power, the government has set up a power plant with 450 mw generation capacity. Among the 15 other plants envisaged, only four have been awarded. No concrete information about the other plants is available. It's only natural for the multilateral agencies to feel 'frustrated'. Links to any political party should not be any criterion for award of work; competence and ability to implement and run a project must be the primary consideration. It is often said that unless our power infrastructure is improved we shall have a low level of FDI inflow. On the other hand, heavy doses of investment are required to bolster the power infrastructure. Apparently, there is a dilemma here; but we believe if we did our part of the job there shouldn't be any insurmountable obstacle to revitalising our power sector.
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