EDITORIAL: So, it turns out that the “crown jewel” 969-megawatt Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project (NJHPP), which has a history of breaking down and causing problems more often than functioning normally, will most likely be offline for a good two years because the “mishap” that shut it down once again more than two years ago remains a mystery.
All the press has been able to report so far is that the scale of decline in headrace tunnel pressure (HRT) and dewatering of a 17km section of the tunnel indicated “some crack or collapse”, but the exact situation is still far from clear.
It’s also been reported that a complete NJHPP shutdown means direct losses of more than Rs55 billion a year and indirect impact in the form of expensive replacement fuel – Rs90bn-Rs150bn – depending upon the source. That means a double whammy for a weak and insecure government struggling with power generation capacity and a very uncomfortable fiscal squeeze. But that should be all the more reason to speed up investigation and repair work, which is not how things are moving on the ground.
It turns out that even though the prime minister visited the site on May 7 and announced a third-party investigation, complete with loud warnings about serious punishment in case of major mistakes and/or oversights, it still took more than two weeks for a formal committee to be constituted.
It’s headed by a former bureaucrat, which explains procedural delaying and slowing down tactics typical of the civil service, which is a big shame in this case since it requires very quick movement to discover all the faults and identify guilty parties, if any.
It’s interesting that an official has been quoted in the press as not entirely ruling out sabotage. Calling it a “distant possibility”, given the tight security and many long kilometres of underground structures, it was still possible in light of a recent maintenance exercise carried out at the tunnel.
Needless to say, of course, that however “distant” the chance of foul play, it still needs to be thoroughly and promptly investigated. That makes the delay in starting the official investigation even more troubling.
Why hasn’t the prime minister taken notice of this foot-dragging despite very stern orders from his office? Now, as the government scrambles to make up for the many billions in losses, surely it understands that taxpayer money will have to foot the bill at the end of the day.
People are already understandably upset that they must bail the government out of its many troubles, with the power sector being a particularly thorny issue. The news of a likely very long NJHPP breakdown has come at a particularly uncomfortable time for everybody.
Energy has become unaffordable for a big part of the country’s population. And with another IMF programme, and more taxes and inflated bills, just around the corner, people’s anger might soon boil to uncontrollable levels.
Therefore, the least the government can do is ensure that its own order of a proper investigation into the NJHPP disaster is carried out, transparently and efficiently. That is the least to be expected. Yet, given its performance, even this much seems too much to ask for.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024