Silent Valley project to be revived

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JULY 19. The Silent Valley hydro-electric project, which had touched off a storm of protest in the State during 1978-80, is to be revived.

The project, shelved in 1981 at the instance of the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, is sought to be revived in the context of the rising cost of power generation in the State. The State Government has instructed the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to prepare the papers for putting up the project for the consideration of the Centre.

The decision to seek revival of the project was announced by the Electricity Minister, Mr. Kadavoor Sivadasan, in the Assembly during question hour today. And his statement came as if on a cue from the former Electricity Minister, Mr. R. Balakrishna Pillai, who reminded the Minister that at the time of ordering shelving of the project, the Centre had promised to reconsider it 20 years later. His suggestion was that the project could be executed as a `run of the river' scheme. "Twenty years have lapsed and we must now revive it," Mr. Pillai said.

Mr. Sivadasan conceded that there was indeed such a promise and informed the member. He said the Government could now consider the project afresh as new technologies for construction of sub- surface dams have been developed. Experts like the former Atomic Energy Commission chairman, Mr. P.K. Iyengar, had advised the Government that sub-surface dams could be the answer to forest denudation for implementation of hydel projects. He also termed as `mostly imaginary' fears about damage to environment on account of implementation of hydro-electric projects.

The Minister also took note of reports that the Union Government has once again rejected the Kuriarkutty-Karappara project and said the Government is determined to take up the matter with the Centre again. The KSEB, he said, has landed in a financial mess on account of sale of power purchased from the Kayamkulam Thermal Power Project for up to Rs. 5.50 at Rs. 1.87 a unit. The KSEB would have to go in for a mix of thermal and hydel power if it were to earn reasonable profits from sale of power, he said.

Mr. Sivadasan also made it clear that the Government is all for `unbundling' as suggested by the Centre. Unbundling would result in the operations of the KSEB being divided into the three areas of generation, transmission and distribution, each segment having to make profits. The Government does not, however, propose to privatise distribution. He also informed the House that the Government considered the formation of a Tariff Regulatory Commission at the State-level necessary to decide on power tariff from time to time.

The Minister informed the members that transmission loss in the State had fallen from 21.37 per cent in 1996-97 to 17.41 per cent in 1999-2000. Roughly seven lakh power meters in the State were in disrepair and about Rs. 100 crores would be necessary to replace them. The Government has initiated measures for their replacement but is of the view that the consumers also should put in their mite in the effort, he said.

Mr. Sivadasan said it has been found that a large share of transmission loss is on account of theft and added that an intensive drive launched last month to check power theft had yielded Rs. 1 crore in additional revenue. He admitted that the best way to check transmission loss is to construct more sub- stations, but said work on sub-stations has been brought to a halt on account of paucity of funds. The Government is trying to secure loans to complete the work, he said.

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