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Consultative panel involving stakeholders from industrial sector suggested

Govind Singh Gurjar

PUDUCHERRY: Lieutenant Governor Govind Singh Gurjar has suggested the idea of forming a consultative committee involving stakeholders from the industrial sector to take policy initiatives on all issues relating to industrial development, according to the Association of Small Industries of the Union Territory of Pondicherry (ASIUTOP).

Secretary of the association K. Parthasarathy said in a statement here that representatives of the organisation presented a memorandum to Mr. Gurjar on Thursday highlighting the acute power problem faced by the industry.

The micro and small industries of Puducherry, particularly those located in the Mettupalayam and Sedarapet industrial estates, had been facing a 14-hour power shedding from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on alternate days for the past three months, the association said in its memorandum.

Assuring the ASIUTOP delegation that he would take up the issue of power shortage with the Central government and get the required additional power shortly, Mr.Gurjar had asked the Minister for Industries and Power V. Vaithilingam to hold discussions with the SSI representatives and evolve a strategy to solve the problem immediately, Mr. Parthasarathy said.

The association also submitted details based on data provided by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) on power supply to the Union Territory from the Central Generation Stations (CSGs) and specifically about the territorial administration’s “failure” to avail itself of the additional allocations made by the Authority to power starving States.

Though the department had been maintaining that against a normal power requirement of 240 MW to 250 MW, only 160 MW to 170 MW was being received, the data provided by the CEA for May and June indicated that the peak hour demand and power requirement had been met with nil deficit. In May, the peak hour demand of 275 MW and the power requirement of 161 M. units were fulfilled and in June, the peak hour demand of 246 MW and power requirement of 151 M. units were met, the association said. The allocation of power from the CGSs to Puducherry as on June 30 as declared by the CEA was 223 MW including 93 MW from Neyveli, 63 MW from Ramagundam and 51 MW from Talcher, it added. Apart from this “firm share,” around 1,085 MW was held by the CGSs during this period as unallocated power for meeting additional requirements of power starved States and Union Territories. Though about six per cent of the reserve was allocable for the Union Territory, the territorial government was “quite late in raising its demand and had just missed the bus,” it added.

The association urged the government to revive the G.O. offering 50 per cent investment subsidy to small industries for setting up of captive power generation units, besides subsidising the differential cost of captive power to the extent of 60 per cent as it had been done in Tamil Nadu. The Lt. Governor had appreciated the idea and asked the Minister to work out the modalities, Mr. Parthasarathy said.

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