PM promises to solve crisis in power sector

The Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today assured the private players in the power sector that a “practical, pragmatic and viable solution” will be found to the plethora of problems facing the power generation and distribution sector.

After hearing the captains of industry led by Ratan Tata and Anil Ambani at his residence in Delhi, the Prime Minister said that a secretary level committee chaired by his Principal Secretary will suggest a roadmap to a time-bound solution to the short term problems impinging on the power sector, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.

The committee will suggest the way forward on the most important issues raised by a delegation of Association of Power Producers. The Prime Minister underlined that the power sector is involved in the process of nation building and there is a need to reduce risks to make the power projects viable. He said it’s a national challenge and asked the industry representatives not to lose heart.

He assured the delegation of his government’s commitment in taking all possible steps to mitigate the problems being faced by the power sector. He also directed his cabinet colleagues present at the meeting to make all out efforts to resolve the key issues impacting the power sector. Those present included, Power Minister, Sushil kumar Shinde, Coal Minister Prakash Jaiswal, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Minister of State (Independent Charge), Environment and Forests, Jayanti Natrajan.

The high-profile delegation included Ashok Hinduja, Vedanta, Chairman Anil Agarwal, Prashant Ruia of the Essar group, GMR's GM Rao, Gautam Adani, Sajjan and Naveen Jindal as well as Lanco Infratech chairman Madhusudan Rao and GVK Group's Sanjay Reddy.

The industrialists also visited these ministers as well as Finance Minister Prabab Mukherjee and Oil Minister Jaipal Reddy. The industrialists are seeking higher supply of coal and natural gas, faster environmental clearances, distribution reforms, greater access to funds, and support for ultra mega power projects that are in trouble because imported coal prices have risen sharply making their operations unviable.