It all boils down to political will
Vishal Rambani & Ravinder Vasudeva, Hindustan Times
Patiala, December 27, 2011

Punjab has been lagging, but it will slip further if the political class fails to set a positive agenda for the state. Political parties can continue to differ on ideologies and indulge in mudslinging if they wish to, but they should at least evolve a consensus on major issues in the larger interest of the state otherwise the coming generations will never forgive them.

This is what emerged from the forum discussion at Citizens’ Agenda here on Thursday, part of the Hindustan Times initiative to set a concrete agenda for the state leadership. Prominent personalities from various fields participated in the conclave, which was moderated by HT resident editor Ramesh Vinayak. They dwelled on the problems plaguing the state and came up with some valuable suggestions.

The panelists, including Punjabi University vice-chancellor Dr Jaspal Singh, Thapar University director Dr Abhijeet Mukherjee, noted theatre artiste Manpal Tiwana, power sector expert and former PSPCL chief engineer Padamjit Singh, economist Dr Kesar Singh, noted agriculturist and Plantsman’s Seeds MD Abdul Wahid, health expert and women’s rights activist Dr Harshindar Kaur and Patiala Industries Association president Naresh Gupta, deliberated on the challenges before the state and how to go about meeting them.

The wide-ranging discussion touched upon various issues, boiling down to the need for a leadership which has the will to take tough decisions for the betterment of the state.

They said Punjab has the potential of regaining the top position in the country, but it needs a proper policy to ensure overall development, an efficient delivery system and corruption-free governance. All said and done, what can really make a difference is strong political will power. Here are excerpts of the discussion:

Power sector

In light of the fact that the power sector holds the key to industrial and agricultural growth, the panelists suggested that the coming government should lay more emphasis on power generation and make all possible efforts to cut losses and bring efficiency in the system.

Initiating the debate, noted power expert Padamjit Singh observed that the debts of the PSPCL had mounted to Rs 20,000 crore due to the policy of providing free power to the agriculture sector and backward classes. “Successive governments are using PSPCL to garner votes by distributing free power, but they have never planned the growth of the power sector nor provided ample funds for it,” he said.

“I am not against free power. If the government wants to continue with it, it should at least compensate PSPCL for it. They must pay the subsidy in cash instead of making book adjustments. Otherwise, PSPCL will collapse,” he said. Claiming that the MoU part of the 2010 electricity policy for setting up power stations would encourage scams, he suggested that the government should go for the bidding process to get power at cheapest rates.

Agriculture expert Abdul Wahid said free power to farmers must continue since the agriculture sector was a major contributor to Punjab’s GSDP.

Prescription

Implement financial restructuring plan as per the national electricity policy, which stipulates that new companies/utilities created after unbundling should not be burdened with past debts.

Stop freebies or pay in cash for subsidies instead of making book adjustments.

On the lines of Gujarat, the Punjab government should adopt a zero-tolerance approach to power thefts.

Scrap MoU policy on power projects.

Set up a 1,320-MW power plant in the public sector.

Adopt a rolling 15-year power plan. Diversify power generation by opting for hydel and wind energy.