Delay in construction of Srinagar-Leh transmission line causes generation, monetary loss: CAG
Srinagar: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has slammed the authorities over delay construction of Srinagar-Leh transmission line, saying it not only led to huge cost escalation but also caused a generation loss of 1,602.64 MUs and an extra expenditure of Rs 700.25 crore due to billing of deemed generation to the Power Development Department.
“Due to the delay in taking a decision for construction of the line, not only huge cost escalation had occurred but there was also a generation loss of 1,602.64 MUs and an extra expenditure of Rs 700. 25 crore due to billing of deemed generation to Power Development Department,” reads the CAG’s compliance audit of activities of selected Central Public Sector Enterprises.
In 2003, the Government of India announced a special package for J&K comprising a 375 km transmission system project from Srinagar to Leh via Kargil with four substations at Drass, Kargil, Khaltsi and Leh at an estimated cost of Rs 377.52 crore.
However, in September 2004, the scope of the transmission system was revised by shifting the overhead line between Gagangir and Zojila Pass (it being an avalanche-prone area) to an underground line along with a change in the transmission capacity at the Kargil sub-station, which led to an increase in the estimated cost to Rs 633.79 crore, reads the report.
On December 15, 2004, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir accorded its approval for execution of the project by Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL); however, the project was put on hold by the Ministry of Power on June 27, 2005.
The project was finally approved by the Government of India in January 2014 at an estimated cost of Rs 1,788.41 crore with a scheduled completion period of 42 months from the date of release of the first installment of funds. The first tranche of money was received on March 01, 2014 and the approved commissioning schedule of the project was September 2017.
The project planned and implemented by PDD, was finally commissioned in January 2019 with a delay of 16 months from the scheduled date.
The CAG has said that due to the time lag in approval/implementation of the transmission system, the completion cost has escalated to Rs 1,583.36 crore from the initial estimated cost of Rs 633.79 crore.
The audit further noticed that in the absence of national grid connectivity due to a delay in the commissioning of the Srinagar-Leh transmission system, Chutak and Nimmo Bazgo hydro-power stations were operated in isolation mode and could not be optimally utilized up to their designed capacity and their generation had to be curtailed to the limited requirements of the Ladakh region only.
“As a result, 1,602.64 MUs of power could not be generated which resulted in generation loss,” the report states.
According to the report, NHPC raised a bill of Rs 1,166.56 crore for deemed generation from these two projects on the PDD.
“Actual generation from these two power stations was only 736.75 MUs (29 percent) against their generation capacity of 2,524.36 MUs. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, allowed the NHPC to claim the tariff in respect of deemed generation. Accordingly, NHPC raised a bill of Rs 1,166.56 crore for deemed generation in the Power Development Department (J&K) and received part payment of Rs 267.59 crore from the Power Development Department and the balance amount is yet to be paid,” the report states. (With inputs from KNO)
