ER.MOHAMMAD ASHRAF FAZILI
During the dearth of electricity in forties, I have been witnessing in dark nights the use of ‘lashi’ wood in villages, baked-earthen oil lamps -(tsong in Kashmiri) with their stands fixed on walls (called tsangi-taar) and the length of oil trail below the lamp stand on the wall would be considered a sign of richness, also there were used moveable lamp stands called ‘zoor’. Next came the age of kerosene lamps called lanterns besides hanging kerosene lamps called ‘Chatgeer’ which were used mostly by the artisans of embroidery etc. who worked in late night hours thus burning their midnight oil. Even scholars and students would be reading under the dim light of these lamps. For large gatherings lighting gases were used which needed replacement of mantles besides pumping air. The situation began to improve with the start of a chain of Hydroelectric powerhouses.
Thanks to the start of chain of Hydro power projects in J&K State from 1905:
When electricity was being supplied from the 9 MW Mohra powerhouse commissioned in 1905, due to the limited power supply, most of the households had one 25W lamp fixed in a hole of the partition wall thus lighting two rooms at a time and this bulb would go flickering once the wires would get overloaded. The connection to each house was installed with a fuse which would get blown off due to overloading by the defaulter customer. Next day the concerned lineman of Electric Department had to be called to reinstall the fuse. A monthly flat rate of Rs.5.00 to Rs.10.00 used to be paid in the concerned electric subdivision within a stipulated time. Any delay would result in the disconnection of the line. With the increase of population, urbanization, and generation of more power though at a snail’s pace, people started use of heaters, boilers etc., which used to result in the damage of transformers in the respective areas thus causing black out of the connected area till the replacement of the repaired transformer. Mostly the meters installed in the houses were bypassed with hooking on the naked overhead transmission lines, though at times, it would result in to fines of the defaulters, yet some people would not refrain from this practice despite all this punishment. Many fire accidents would also take place due to short circuiting causing huge damages to the houses which were mostly built of timber and masonry. With the increase of power generation, though disproportionate with the increase of demand, people started use of modern gadgets like geysers, refrigerators, washing machines, radiators, central heating etc., resulting into a vast gap between demand and supply thus causing frequent shutdowns particularly in winter months when water discharge gets reduced, and the hydro-power projects have to suffer with low generation. The hydro-power stations of J&K UT being connected to Northern Grid generate sizable amount of power to help the deficit states during summer, hence in winter the process could be reversed.
The northern grid covers nine regions – Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, J&K and Chandigarh.
From the media it is revealed that: Overall, J&K has a requirement of about 2,600 MW of electricity. However, the power supply to the Kashmir division is 1200 MW while to Jammu is 900 MW. There is a deficit of about 500 MW. (Ref: Indian Express 28.10.2023)
Jammu & Kashmir has the identified potential to generate about 16475 MW of hydropower (11,283 MW in Chenab basin, 3,084 MW in Jhelum, 500 MW in Ravi and 1,608 MW in Indus). Once the entire power potential is exploited, Jammu & Kashmir can be turned into a net energy exporter.
In comparison to an identified power generation potential of 16475 MW, J&K currently generates only 3,263 MW of electricity in the state sector from 21 power projects.
According to the recent media reports about power projects in J&K it is stated that:
Mohra-the second oldest powerhouse in Asia:
The Mohra power project is a hydroelectric plant located on the Jhelum River in Boniyar, Kashmir. It was built in 1902 by Maharaja Ranbir Singh and commissioned in 1905 by Maharaja Hari Singh. The project was one of the first of its kind in the subcontinent.
The Mohra power project has an installed capacity of 9 MW. The project is owned by Jammu and Kashmir. The JKSPDC has announced that the heritage power station at Mohra will be revived. The project is likely to go into tender stage by April next year and cost an approximate Rs 120 crore.
Jammu and Kashmir’s power generation company has decided to finally revive the Mohra power station, the second oldest power generation station in Asia. The decision was taken at the Jammu Kashmir State Power Development Corporation board meeting that Additional Chief Secretary, Finance, Vivek Bhardwaj presided over.
The Board of Directors accorded its approval to the award of the EPC contract for execution of 10.5 MW (2x 5.25 MW) Mohura Heritage Hydro Electric Project, located in Tehsil Boniyar, District Baramulla at the estimated cost of about Rs 133.50 crores
As stated earlier he Mohra SHP, a run-off river scheme was constructed in 1905 in Kashmir on river Jhelum at Boniyar, 35 km downstream of Baramulla, with an installed capacity of 4 MW, later enhanced to 9 MW. It was the second hydroelectric project in Asia.
The LG Administration is very keen to revive this century-old project and the Board of Directors has approved the implementation of the project. The project is slated and shall be completed in 42 months.
Vivek Bharadwaj, who is also Chairman of the Board directed that all necessary approvals like forest clearance, MHA clearance etc for the projects of the corporation should be ensured at the earliest.
Principal Secretary, Power Development Department, Nitishwar Kumar directed that the project should be commissioned on time without any delay.
The Board also confirmed the allotment of the contract to M/S Oriental Insurance Company for the insurance of 900 MW Baglihar HEP – Stage-I and Stage-II for the policy period from 16-07-2022 to 15-07-2023.
New Ganderbal Hydroelectric Project:
Declared in 1996, the work on the much-awaited 93-MW New Ganderbal Hydropower Project is in limbo as the authorities have failed to start the construction work of the power project. Coming up on River Sindh, the New Ganderbal Hydropower Project was estimated to be completed at a cost of over Rs 800 crore.
The project was conceived as a run-of-the-river scheme on Sindh Nallah with three units of 31-MW each.
Official sources said that in 2014, a two-stage bidding process was adopted for the selection of the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor for the project in which Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) emerged as the successful bidder with a negotiated cost of Rs 819.18 crore.
However, for a variety of reasons HCC failed to implement the project till 2017.
Subsequently, the contract was cancelled.
The sources said that the Letter of Intent (LoI) to HCC was issued under a cabinet decision and the proposal was placed before the State Administrative Council (SAC) chaired by then Governor Satya Pal Malik, which accorded approval to the annulment of the bid Process and initiation of procurement process of the 93-MW New Ganderbal Hydro Electric Project afresh by Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDC) EPC mode.
“The decision was taken given the resolution passed by the then Board of Directors of JKSPDC,” the sources said. They said that all the requisite clearances for the project had been obtained and compliances for clearance of the project by the Centre’s Indus Commission made.
The government’s failure to start the construction of the 93-Megawatt New Ganderbal Power Project has evoked resentment among the people here.
Locals said that the successive governments had failed to initiate the work on the project.
“Locals were enthusiastic after the announcement of the construction of the new power project in Ganderbal but it was short-lived as no such development took place to date,” the residents said.
Bilal Ahmed, a local, said that the work on the project had not started despite frequent assurances from the higher-ranked officials and ministers in the past.
Officials said that if the project is completed, the power supply in J&K would increase and to some extent help tide over the power crisis.
The project is said to be more viable economically, geologically, and environmentally compared to other proposed and under-construction projects of the JKSPDC and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and involves minimal rehabilitation, resettlement, and social issues.
A senior official said that the project was in the tendering process.
“The date of submission of the bids was October 10, 2022, which has now been extended till October 31,” the official said. “Work on the project will be started once the tendering process is completed.”
The Jammu & Kashmir administration last week said the Union Territory is facing a power crisis as its power projects are generating less electricity than before due to the dry spell in summer. The administration is taking steps to address the issue, it added.
Current generation of power in J&K:
In comparison to an identified power generation potential of 16,475 MW, J&K currently generates only 3,263 MW of electricity in the state sector from 21 power projects. The largest share of energy, 2,009 MW comes from the central sector from seven projects while about 42.5 MW is brought in by the private sector through four projects. More than 85% of this comes from hydropower projects, the largest of which is the Baglihar project on the Chenab basin with an installed capacity of 900 MW.
……to be continued
Er.Mohammad Ashraf Fazili is a former Chief Engineer
