The former Chief Minister and president of the Karnataka Janata Paksha B.S. Yeddyurappa has come down on Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar for not ensuring adequate power supply to State during summer.
Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, he blamed Mr. Shettar for the power crisis. “The available power from hydel, thermal and renewable sources was not efficiently used, which resulted in an inadequate supply of power,” he said.
The former Minister Shobha Karandlaje said many efficient officers had been transferred following her resignation as Energy Minister. The government owes an explanation to the people on the decline in power production. It should explain why the contingency plan drawn by her when she was in the Ministry was not implemented. This plan was specifically drawn up to tackle the power shortage in summer, she added.
As per the contingency plan, it was decided not to tap hydel sources till January 2013. Instead, power would be drawn from thermal, nuclear and renewable sources, as well as the State’s share from the Central grid, to meet energy requirements till December-end.
“I do not know why this contingency plan was not considered; you should ask the government why it was not implemented,” the former Minister added.
The government also owed an explanation on why power production was suspended in one unit each at the Udupi Power Company Ltd. and the Bellary Thermal Power Station, she said.
Mr. Yeddyurappa said when the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in the State, it had ensured that the State’s power production capability was increased by 5,000 MW.
However, because the demand continued to rise, the increase in power production failed to have the desired impact. If the Union government had cooperated by giving coal linkage to new projects, the State would have been self-sufficient by now, he said.
