Hyderabad, March 14: Giving necessary assurance to fix the issue of power supply shortage to the industrial sector, Governor ESL Narasimhan has said that he is personally looking into the matter and a decision will be taken shortly.
Speaking at the CII AP annual meeting here on Saturday, he said, “Today, we are short of power. We are exploring alternatives including the Tamil Nadu model, purchase of power at higher prices besides others. I’am personally looking into the matter and a decision will be reached upon soon.’’.
Admitting that there is a lack of planning as far as power generation and supply is concerned, Narasimhan said, “Did we not know what exactly is State’s requirements? This is the problem. Whenever we are talking, we are talking of today or for next 2-3 years. I request you to plan for the next 30-40 years ahead.’’
Suggesting that corporates draw up an action plan rather than confining initiatives to boardroom presentations, he said, “We are talking about several things, but what is the real impact on the ground? I’d like you to take responsibility to attract more investments into the State,’’ he added.
Terming the current Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes undertaken by corporates as redundant, Narasimhan urged the industry to redefine CSR and actually contribute to the State’s economic growth.
“Many of you are adopting few villages to provide education and healthcare services. But it is like a tree plantation programme where we plant the same trees in the same place over and over again for several years,’’ he said.
“However slow the economy might be, I think your profits are good. But how much of those profits will you earmark for CSR. You are big people, go to big places, think big, talk big, now do something big for us. And I as the Governor, as a speed breaker, only request you to do something that will help the State cope for the next 20 years.’’
Giving a fitting repartee to Ajit Rangnekar, Dean, ISB, who had earlier said Government’s ability to design and implement programmes is limited, Narasimhan said, “You have plenty of money and don’t have to please the entire population, but we have to. Little money, more spread and that’s the challenge before the Government and it can’t be compared with private sector.’’
He further added that the Government has no limitations in terms of capabilities and that the best brains do exist in the Government and not just in the private sector.
—Agencies