Date:21/06/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/06/21/stories/2007062151031200.htm

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PM: address challenges in power sector

Sujay Mehdudia

Dedicates Tala power transmission system to the nation; West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Sikkim to benefit

NEW DELHI: The challenges on the energy front must be addressed on a war-footing so as to achieve security, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Thursday.

“The availability of quality power at affordable cost has emerged the most important constraint on the pace of our development,” Dr. Singh said, dedicating the 1,200-km East-North Tala Power Transmission System to the nation from his residence.

“The people are not going to wait endlessly for us to sort out our administrative, political and ecological problems,” he said. Expressing gratitude to the King and people of Bhutan for their role in the Tala hydro-electric project and transmission system, he said the project symbolised the resolve to find new pathways of regional cooperation for sustainable development.

The project is a 49:51 per cent joint venture between Tata Power and Bhutan’s Power Grid Corporation Limited. This is the first power transmission project developed in public-private partnership. It will benefit West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Sikkim.

“The projects are of immense national significance. Not just because they signify the availability of additional electric power but more so because they are important symbols of regional economic cooperation in South Asia. I hope that we can replicate our highly successful, win-win model of bilateral cooperation with Bhutan in the power sector with Nepal too,” Dr. Singh said.

“I am aware that there are concerns pertaining to ecology, rehabilitation and resettlement in the case of large hydroelectric projects. I am fully cognisant of such concerns and they must be addressed. I do sincerely believe that it is possible for us to take care of our people and our environment while undertaking hydro-power projects. It is precisely to address such concerns that the Ministry of Power is setting up a task force on hydro-power.”

Special courts

The Prime Minister expressed the hope that special courts for speedy disposal of power theft cases would become operational soon.

As part of the agreement between India and Bhutan, the project will transfer power from the latter’s 1,020-MW project, which started power generation in July last. The $750-million project is the biggest India-Bhutan joint venture and completely funded by India.

Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Minister of State in PMO Prithviraj Chavan, Secretary, Power, Anil Razdan, and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited Chairman and Managing Director R.P. Singh were present.