Addressing the public through Jaya TV, Jayalalitha said, “I understand the difficulties faced by you due to the power shortage. I wish to clarify that neither me nor the government led by me is the reason for this state of affairs. The DMK and Congress leaders who accuse that Tamil Nadu is drowned in darkness now, failed to do anything to set right the power situation in the last 15 years... The previous DMK regime and the Congress-led government at the centre alone own full responsibility for the power crisis.” We don’t know whether it is proper for her, in her capacity as the Chief Minister of the State, to make an official broadcast over a private television channel. Earlier, she used the same TV channel to announce hike in bus fares, milk prices and power tariff. This may be the n+1 time that Jayalalitha tries to blame the previous DMK rule for the present unprecedented power shutdown, but people of Tamil Nadu, by their own experience, will reject her claim. Because, there were power cuts only for two hours in Chennai and four hours in districts, that too with prior announcements. But the media as a whole made a hue and cry about it and Jayalalitha and some other opposition parties capitalized on media propaganda. So when Jayalalitha, in her election campaign, promised people that power cut would be totally eliminated within three months of the ADMK elected to power, people were carried away by her assurance and voted her to power with a lot of hope.
Now, Jayalalitha has told the Assembly on 31-10-2012, of course after DMK members were evicted, that she never said that power cut would be eliminated within three months of assuming office. She is on the record of the Assembly while replying to the debate on the Governor’s Address in June 2011 immediately after forming government, telling that the then existing 3 hour power cut would be reduced to 2 hours and from July power shortage in TN would be totally solved.
After convening the meeting of her Cabinet and deciding to move the Supreme Court for directing the Centre to reallocate 1,721 MW of power surrendered by Delhi State government for three months of winter, Jayalalitha had added in her TV address, “Even if the Centre betrays us, with your cooperation and the grace of the Almighty, I will redeem TN from darkness,” she said, adding that the State would regain its “power surplus status”. Even before the Centre has responded and the court passing any order, if she makes such a statement bordering on arrogance, then why all these exercises? What does she expect the hapless people of the state to do by seeking their cooperation? If she is confident of the grace of ‘Almighty’ for her, she could as well seek it by her usual visits to temples or by performing yagnas!
She has observed that during 1991-96, the ADMK regime had enhanced the installed capacity by 1,302 mw and by 2,518 mw during 2001-06, thus, the total installed capacity in TN stood at 10,100 mw in 2006. But so far, in spite of repeatedly challenged by the DMK and Kalaignar to specify the names and installed capacities of the ‘power projects’ that were planned, funded and started during 2001-2006, neither Jayalalitha nor her apologists like Cho S.Ramaswami and “Dinamani’ editor had answered, neither they could, because it is a double-boiled, double- distilled lie. Contradicting her own claim of enhancing installed capacity, she herself had said “the previous ADMK government took steps to establish many mega power projects and the change of guard took place at that time in 2006.” That means those projects were only on papers unlike those projects to generate 7,798 MW of power which were planned, funds allocated and works started during DMK rule in 2006-2011.
Now even according to the government’s own admission in the petition filed in the Supreme Court on October 29,“The people were facing massive power cuts, up to 12 hours every day. The industrial sector was subjected to 40 per cent demand and energy cut. The agricultural sector was the worst hit,” whereas in reality it is between 14 and 16 hours.
Eighteen months since ADMK came to power and the duration of power cut increasing day by day, people were not at all prepared to accept any of the alibis given by the rulers, their annoyance turning into anger against the regime. Jayalalitha was madly yearning for some excuse or the other if not to subside the growing resentment, at least to divert their attention for some time, when there was a report in the media that the National Capital Territory of Delhi was surrendering 230 MW of round the clock power and 1491 MW (available between midnight and 6 a.m.) for about three months during winter. That news was enough for Jayalalitha to advance a lame excuse and have some respite. Her Cabinet decided to seek reallocation of 1721 MW of power surrendered by Delhi to Tamil Nadu. Although 1721 MW of power that is repeatedly focused by the government looks like a big deal, only 231 MW of the quantum will be available round the clock and 1491 MW available between midnight and 6 a.m. will be of no use to people of the state during winter and monsoon seasons or for the industry. So it is obvious that the ADMK regime is not making the bid with any bonafide intention of providing some relief to the people but only to divert the attention of them for some time
Secondly, the ADMK regime itself is aware of the fact that even if the Centre reallocated this power, there is no infrastructure to receive it in our state. Even while the government moved the Supreme Court on October 29 for a direction to the Centre to reallocate the 1721 MW of power surrendered by Delhi to Tamil Nadu, the suit also sought a direction to the Centre to provide necessary corridor for smooth transmission of power .
The state has also sought directions to the Centre to provide dedicated or congestion free inter-state power transmission corridors to the southern region.
The suit said: “The southern region, consisting of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry, is not connected to the NEW grid. So the southern states, more particularly Tamil Nadu, are not getting adequate power from the grid and have to depend primarily on electricity generated within the region.”
It said the Tamil Nadu Electricity Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd (TANGEDCO) had entered into yearlong agreements with various states to purchase around 1,100 MW of power but due to congestion in the transmission corridor, the state was receiving only 85 MW of electricity. “Centre has not taken necessary measures and has not provided with adequate infrastructural facilities to ensure smooth inter-state transmission of power. Centre has thus failed in its statutory duty to provide for these facilities as mandated by the Electricity Act, 2003,” the petition said.
Debt-ridden TANGEDCO Ltd has one more customer crying foul for non-payment of dues. The Tamil Nadu Spinning Mills Association (TASMA) is threatening to file a case against TANGEDCO for its unpaid bills for the last 18 months running into several crores.
“Around Rs.800 crore is due as payment from TANGEDCO to TASMA towards wind power generation and encashment of banked units for the last 18 months. We are planning to file a writ petition to seek direction to adjust the amount in the monthly bills of the units,“ said K. Venkatachalam, chief advisor at Tasma. After enumerating the members and their total dues, they will be filing a case in the HC in a day or two.
Tasma members account for around 3,500 MW of wind power installed in the state and are now seeking payment for about 600 crore units generated in 2010-11 and 900 crore units, in 201112. The corporation has failed to clear their dues for over 18 months. We have been regularly paying our monthly dues to TANGEDCO. As our money is blocked, we are asking it be adjusted towards these payments, said TASMA president A.P. Appukutty.
So knowing very well that right now there is no corridor for transmission of power from Northern grid to Sothern grid and it will take several years and funds to set up the corridor, the ADMK regime has resorted to this move only to buy time. But Tamil Nadu government’s senior official of the Tamil Nadu Generation of Electricity and Distribution Corporation unmasked the design of the ADMK regime. Speaking to the Deccan Chronicle the senior official had said that Tamil Nadu will have to wait till January 2014, for congestion in the transmission corridor of the southern grid to ease, to import power from the national grid.
The southern grid covering Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Puducherry has not been integrated with the national grid. “Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) is constructing a 800 kV transmission link between Raichur in Karnataka and Sholapur in Maharashtra to connect the southern grid with rest of the national grid,” said the official.
At present, the national grid is demarcated into five regional grids — Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western and NE. Except the southern grid, all other grids are operating in synchrony since August 2006 and have a single frequency. “The southern grid is connected asynchronously with the rest of the national power grid. This has been done through high voltage direct current links and radially operated AC links,” the official said.
Presently, the inter-regional transmission capacity between West and South is 1,500 MW. “With the new transmission lines between Maharashtra and Karnataka, the transmission capacity will be enhanced to 5,000 MW,” the official pointed out.
After evicting inconvenient DMK members in whose presence she could not mislead the House, Jayalalitha had claimed in the Assembly on Oct.31 that the information given by Kalaignar in his epistle to cadre that the previous DMK rule headed by him had taken steps to get 7,798 MW of power till 2014 as an imaginary statement and ‘fully contrary to truth’. After stating this and asking people to bear with her for some more time, she had said “power cuts would be relaxed in the coming months, thanks to commissioning of projects one by one. The government headed by her took expeditious steps to commission new projects: Mettur unit and first unit of Vallur project to generate 600 MW and 500 MW respectively from December 2012, the second unit of Vallur project (500 MW) in March 2013,600 MW, North Chennai Thermal project in April 2013, the second unit of North Chennai project (600 MW) in May 2013, third unit of Vallur project(500 MW) in October 2013,two units of Tuticorin thermal project (1000 MW) in December 2013, totaling 3,230 MW by the end of 2013.” She had also said about Kudankulam, Neyveli Central projects to yield altogether totaling 4,385 MW by the end of next year. Who started all these projects and when ? It was the DMK government which planned, funded and started works for all these projects and Kalaignar has umpteen number of times given dates of starting the projects and their costs. It is a pity that dailies in Tamil Nadu very well aware of this truth, are dutifully publishing the lies of the Chief Minister, thus doing a disservice to their readers and people of the state.
The ADMK rank and file should realize that that their ‘Amma’ cannot for long manage power crisis due to her ineptness and callousness by consistently lying and adopting diversionary tactics. The suppressed anger of the people will erupt like a volcano!
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