One is surprised at the way Karnataka?India?s IT state?is wooing industrial investments, just when the state is reeling under acute power shortage. The state has chalked out a plan to attract investments worth a whopping Rs 5 lakh crore during the much hyped-up Global Investors Meet (GIM), scheduled to be held in the first week of June. The government has already given its nod to big-ticket investors like ArcelorMittal, Posco and Lafarge to set up their projects for which the MoUs will be signed during the GIM.
All these moves may seem creditable but where is the power to drive new industries? Karnataka, which is the headquarters for IT behemoths like Wipro and Infosys, has been the pioneer in power generation since 1902 when Asia?s first hydroelectric power station was commissioned in the state. The state was the first to embark on alternating current and had the longest transmission line in the world in 1902, from Sivasamudram to KGF, covering a distance of 147 km. But all these records are in the past. One cannot live in the past and the government today is a mute spectator to energy shortage. The state is facing a severe power shortage with the demand-supply gap widening to 22%. The daily energy consumption is around 150 mw with an annual load growth of 8-10%. The peak demand is about 7,877 mw but the availability is only 6,100 mw. Two units of Raichur Thermal Power Station, the major power generating source for the state, may collapse any time as they are not fit to operate.
The government promises investors that upcoming power projects will add 8,000 mw to the grid over the next five years. But how industries will survive until then is anyone?s guess. Moreover, many of the government projects are coal-based, which are always opposed by the masses in rural Karnataka. Even in the past, the government could not take up a few thermal projects, including the 4,000 mw project in Tadadi, due to protests by the public. At this juncture, it is imperative for the state to clear the anxieties of prospective investors over power supply, which is a critical requirement to drive industrial growth.
?jaishankar.jayaramiah@expressindia.com