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Power projects: ‘eliminate non-serious players’

NEW DELHI: Lashing out at the poor progress in the implementation of the hydro power projects in various States through the memorandum of understanding (MoU) route, Union Minister of State for Power Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday called for an end to this “virus of MoUs” that has afflicted the power sector.

“I was shocked to see the names of private developers who have bagged these projects. Around 18,030 MW capacity projects have been hit by this MoU route where the progress has been very poor. Majority of them are not serious players and have just got into the MoU mode to make a quick buck and not with the intent of implementing the project on ground.

This situation has to come to an end if we have to meet the challenges posed in the XI and XII plans,” Mr. Ramesh said.

He said a complete ‘audit’ should be ordered at the Central and State levels to figure out who all were serious players and eliminate the non-serious elements. The non-serious players were hanging on to the projects for years together in a bid to bargain or trade for a highest bidder and make quick money. The MoU epidemic that had badly hit the hydro power sector had to be stopped at any cost, he said.

MoUs for eight projects with 1,500 MW capacity had been signed in Himachal Pradesh with no sign of implementation. Similarly, seven projects in Uttarakhand with 950 MW capacity, 22 in Sikkim with 2,271 MW capacity and 30 projects in Arunachal Pradesh with 13,300 MW capacity have been allotted through the MoU route but the implementation on ground had been negligible, he said.

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