In a powerful intervention in Parliament, MP Er Rashid delivered a hard-hitting speech demanding the immediate return of Jammu and Kashmir’s hydropower projects from NHPC to the Jammu Kashmir, saying the corporation “continues to behave like the East India Company while our resources are being looted in broad daylight.”
Er Rashid said the people of J&K have waited far too long for justice on the long-pending demand to restore ownership of power projects back to the region. “Honor the MOUs. Give J&K what rightfully belongs to J&K,” he said, stressing that the exploitation of the Jammu Kashmir’s hydropower potential without adequate local benefit has created deep resentment on the ground.
He urged the government to ensure priority employment for locals in Uri, Doda, Reasi, Chenab Valley and Pir Panjal, where large hydropower installations have uprooted communities but failed to provide meaningful livelihood avenues. “These projects exist on the land, water and sacrifices of our people. Locals must be given jobs first,” he asserted.
Calling it a “bold call for justice, dignity and rightful ownership,” Er Rashid said the people of Jammu and Kashmir stand firmly behind this long overdue demand. He pressed for free electricity within a 5-kilometre radius of every hydropower project, utilisation of CSR funds for local area development and a transparent framework to ensure communities benefit directly from the resources extracted from their own land.
Er Rashid concluded by urging the Centre to demonstrate sincerity by beginning the process of returning the projects, saying it would not only correct a historical wrong but also restore trust between the people and the government.
