Neighbours eye state’s power pie

The phenomenal success of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit-2009 in attracting investment proposals seems to have attracted the attention of the neighbouring states, who are interested in the spin-offs of the investments promised for Gujarat. Officials from Maharashtra, Goa and Rajasthan are expected to discuss the likely spin-offs at the meeting of the centre-state commission for the western region scheduled in Ahmedabad on February 19 & 20.

A senior government official said that the two-day event, which is to be inaugurated by chief minister Narendra Modi, has interstate power projects at the top of the agenda. Given the fact that the Bharatiya Janata Party has given Modi the responsibility of Maharashtra for the Lok Sabha elections, Gujarat may be very accommodative of the power requirements of the neighbouring states.  Gujarat is expected to be a power surplus state by 2012 with over 5,000 megawatt (MW) to spare. This surplus is expected to go up to over 20,000 MW by 2017. Incidentally, these projections about surplus power have been made without taking into account the MoUs signed at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit-2009.

These MoUs are expected to add another 51,000 MW of electricity to the state’s power generation capacity. Even if only a fraction of the promised investment materialises over the next 10 years, the neighbouring states can look forward to a lot of surplus electricity from Gujarat.

The commission on Centre-state relations, currently headed by former justice Madan Mohan Punchhi, has been holding meetings region-wise, the first of which was held in Chandigarh for north India. More recently, the second meeting was held in Bhuvaneshwar for the eastern region.

“The commission has chosen to hold the meeting for the western region in Gujarat and has intimated us about it,” said a government official. “It will be held at Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration.”

The event would be addressed by Governor Nawal Kishore Sharma on the last day. During the two-day event, Gujarat chief secretary and other senior officials of the state would discuss issues related to power-sharing with their counterparts from the three neighbouring states.  Further, the commission itself is expected to invite local and regional experts for several brainstorming sessions. The centre-state commission makes recommendations or suggests changes in policy matters for better coordination at the national and regional levels.

On the agenda for the meeting are a number of projects for which MoUs were signed during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit and which may have an impact well beyond Gujarat’s boundaries. This, according to senior government officials, may have prompted the commission to hold the meeting for the western region in Gujarat.  A top government official, however, said on the condition of anonymity that there was no such indication in the written communication received from the commission. “But it may have been at the back of their minds when they decided to hold the meeting in Gujarat,” the official said.

Another important matter that will be discussed is the socio-economic impact of inter-state migration of people. This has acquired much importance as it has been raked up by some political parties in Maharashtra.

The centre-state commission was set up to look into issues arising out of social and economic changes taking place in India. Its main agenda includes examining and reviewing the working of the existing arrangements between the Union and the states, various pronouncements of the courts regarding different powers, legislative relations, administrative relations, role of governors, emergency provisions, financial relations, economic and social planning, panchayati raj institutions, and sharing of resources, including inter-state river waters.