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Relocation of DVC headquarters -- Jharkhand to take up issue with PM

Indrani Dutta

KOLKATA, Aug. 9

THE issue of relocation of the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) headquarters to Ranchi appears to be hotting up with the Jharkhand Government planning to take up the matter with the Prime Minister.

The Jharkhand Energy Minister, Mr Lalchand Mahato, told Business Line that he had already held a meeting with the Union Power Minister, Mr Suresh Prabhu, in this regard and that he proposed to meet the Prime Minister to press the case of his State.

``Our demand is a very legitimate one -- we buy 80 per cent of DVC power. This apart, 75 per cent of their 2761 MW capacity is located here. So why should control of the DVC be located elsewhere?'' the Minister argued.

He also felt that the DVC needed to refocus its attention on matters such as flood control, irrigation and soil conservation. ``Over the years, the DVC has forgotten its multi-utility role and is concentrating mostly on power generation. This needs to c hange and these activities are acutely needed in the DVC area,'' he said.

Incidentally, the DVC board, which was asked to discuss this issue by the Centre, considered it at its board meeting held in end-June. However, beyond pointing out that a consensus would be required on the issue, the board did not take any definite stand , sending the ball back to the Centre's court.

Set up in 1948 through an Act, the DVC is co-owned by the Centre and the two State Governments of West Bengal and Bihar. It is under the administrative control of the Union Power Ministry. Its command area is spread across the lower half of the two State s. With the formation of Jharkhand State, Bihar has ceased to be a co-owner of the DVC.

The current controversy on the location of the corporation's headquarters has its genesis in a resolution passed by the entire Jharkhand Assembly, which demanded a relocation. The matter was subsequently referred to the Union Power Ministry, which sought the DVC board's views.

While the BJP-led coalition has 46 seats in the 82-member Jharkhand Assembly, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is the main opposition party with 12 seats. The Congress has 11 seats. The Left parties have four seats, while the Rashtriya Janata Dal, which sits w ith the opposition, has nine.

According to Mr Mahato, all the parties have supported the demand for relocation of the DVC's headquarters in Jharkhand. This is not the first time that the issue of shifting the DVC headquarters to within the corporation's command area was raised.

The issue had figured thrice before between 1960 and 1988, with the Centre maintaining on each occasion that the two participating State Governments should come to an understanding on the matter.

In the event of an agreement proving to be elusive at this level, the DVC management has taken steps to diffuse tension by developing Maithon in Bihar as a functional headquarters.

Important departments have been shifted to this location in a phased manner with the permission of the West Bengal Government.

DVC sources said that, currently, although the corporate headquarters were located here (recently the corporation acquired land on which it had constructed a 12-storey office building), its field offices (along with the departmental heads) have been move d to locations in the command area, which were mostly in Jharkhand.