Faced with power blues, Govt shunts Dheeraj Gupta

Srinagar: The government on Thursday transferred senior IAS officer Dheeraj Gupta for failing to formulate a comprehensive plan of action to deal with the power crises in the state.

An order issued by the government said that Principal Secretary to JK Govt, Power Development Department Dheeraj Gupta (IAS), has been transferred and posted as Principal Secretary (Coordination) in the Resident Commission, J&K Government, New Delhi

Hirdesh Kumar, IAS, Commissioner Secy to Govt Housing & Urban Development Deptt, has been transferred and posted as Commissioner/Secy to Govt Power Development Deptt. He shall also hold charge of the post of Commissioner/Secretary to Govt, Housing and Urban Development Department, an official communiqué issued in Jammu said.

Gupta had earned the ire of the Chief Minister as the Valley is presently faced with a severe power crises. Gupta was questioned by the Chief Minister during a review meeting held to discuss the power crises as to why the projects that would have strengthened the power distribution network in the state have been delayed or put on hold altogether.

The state government is failing to deal with the power crises as the distribution network in the state is such that it cannot afford to import more electricity from the northern grid.

Meanwhile, the Union power ministry today said it has allocated additional power to the state to meet demand during the winter season.

In view of increase in the power requirement in Jammu and Kashmir, that happens normally during winter, the central government has allocated 74 percent power i.e. 792 MW out of 1071 MW from the unallocated power pool of northern region, the ministry said in a statement.

This will help the state in further meeting the additional requirement of power during the winter.

The power requirement in the state is met from generation from their own power plants, allocated share from central generating stations and power purchased from market.

The peak demand of state during the current year (April to October, 2017) was 2,768 MW and the demand met was 2,214 MW, thus, leaving a shortfall of around 554 MW (i.e 20 percent).

At present, around 70 percent of the energy requirement is being met from central generating stations in the state, it said.

 

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