The collapse of the power grids resulting in half of the Indian population going without power was the culmination of neglect of the power sector for decades by successive Governments, said Lok Satta Party President Dr Jayaprakash Narayan here today. Addressing media after unveiling a booklet on ‘Environment in the Jaws of Pollution’, penned by Prof. Gollu Suryanarayana in Telugu, here, Dr Narayana said although India has abundant coal reserves that can last for nearly 300 years, power plants are starved of the fuel because of lack of foresight on the part of the Government.
“We import not merely gold but also 130 million tons of black gold worth billions of dollars every year,” he said. Dr Narayan said corruption, short-sighted policies and inefficiency are to blame for the chronic power shortage in Andhra Pradesh. Instead of reducing losses in transmission and distribution, the Government is encouraging establishment of more and more power plants, unmindful of the pollution they cause. The State perhaps needs an additional installed capacity of about 15,000 mw whereas the Government talks of promoting generation of 66,000 MW. It persists with unviable lift irrigation schemes which require massive amounts of power. UNI