EDITORIAL: The prime minister will have to do a lot more than order an inquiry into the latest “technical fault” at the Neelum-Jehlum Hydropower Project (NJHP) and wait for the result to take corrective action because authorities are still struggling to explain the last major breakdown, in July 2022, when the project was closed “due to major cracks in the tail race tunnel” and only resumed power generation 13 months later in Aug-Sep 2023.
Now, the 969-megawatt NJHP stopped functioning once again early morning on 1 May 2024 because two turbines had to be shut down “after aggravation of problems in the head race tunnel”. This came after two other turbines stopped working because of reduced pressure in the tunnel in early April, less than one week after the project recorded generation at full capacity.
This, sadly, has been the story of this troubled plant all along. And since you couldn’t bungle such a crucial project this badly even if you wanted to, there needs to be a separate investigation into just how much negligence, incompetence and/or corruption has played a part and, needless to say, those responsible must be made to pay for it. But that, too, hasn’t happened.
No wonder, then, that the project has already consumed more than $5 billion against an initial estimate of $40 million and still runs into technical issues that shut it down time and again.
Therefore, this time, it’s not just the plant and how quickly it resumes operations that is under the microscope, but also how soon the investigation ordered by the PM sees the light of day and what subsequent actions are taken.
The PM would know, no doubt, that his government has been struggling with legitimacy since the controversial election. That makes it all the more important to honour tall claims about governance and economic performance that were made at the oath-taking.
There’s no doubt that the people will be more than willing to put the bitterness of the past behind if some leader can take them out of their troubles. But the proof of the pudding always lies in the eating, and now is the time to test it.
Therefore, it is now up to the prime minister to show the people that the inquiry he has ordered into the latest NJHP shutdown will get to the bottom of the rot, sort it out, make heads roll, and ensure such things never happen again.
It’s a shame that a country with chronic power shortages, that too when it is on the brink of default and businesses and households are suffering alike, must also factor in completely unforced errors, just like the problems at NJHP.
It’s the people that pay for these losses at the end of the day, and their patience has already been tested enough by historic inflation, unemployment and inflated utility bills, among so many other troubles.
Breakdowns like NJHP’s not only take the system further towards collapse, but in the present environment also push the people one step closer to taking things in their own hands; a feature of crumbling societies of which history provides many examples.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024