HT
Govt asks PSEB to pay for dam repair
Gurpreet Singh Nibber
PATIALA:

The Ranjit Sagar Dam project is in urgent need of repairs and the cash-strapped Punjab government is looking at an unlikely source to bail it out -- the Punjab State Electricity Board.
The government has asked the power board to pay for 3 per cent of the electricity sold to consumers, being generated at Ranjit Sagar Dam, to the Irrigation Department. A request the power board seems in no condition to agree to.

Last week, a communiqué was sent to the power board by Power and Irrigation Secretary Arun Goyal.

Justifying the demand, an Irrigation Department official said since they had to carry out development, repair and other urgent works on behalf of the power board, there was no reason why compensation could not be sought.

"Since the Dam was commissioned in August 2000, some work has been pending and urgent repairs need to be carried out, but there are no funds available. So, there has to be some way out to fund the projects," added the official.

As per Irrigation Department estimates, works to the tune of Rs 21 crore are to be carried out, including checking seepage at the main dam wall, curtain grouting at the foundation and maintaining walls of the water courses that bring in water to the dam.

The RSD project, with an installed capacity of 600 MW, generates power worth Rs 400 crore. In 2009, 1,088 million units were generated and sold for Rs 326 crore.

Reacting to the demand, a top official of PSEB said the cash-strapped board was in no position to pay. "All departments, boards and corporations work for the government and its people, and it is the duty of the Punjab government to fund its department, it cannot shift onus on any other department or