On Friday, March 05, 2004 7:20 PM, simon carvalho <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I had forwaded (e-mailed) this message to the Hon'ble chief Minister of Goa and here is his reply to it. Simon Dear Shri Antao, I am in receipt of your email dated February 26, 2004 regarding Goa Electricity. In this regard, I feel that you are wrongly informed on many facts. Under the central Government scheme to upgrade power sector Goa has benefited maximum of the total outlay of Rs. 10, 000 crores i.e Rs. 100 per capital would have made state eligible to around 13.5 crores. The actual approved outlay is 250 crores. Incidentally, in Delhi the system has rotted and privatisation was forced as collapse was imminent. In Goa, the system is much better but can be improved further. With kind regards, Yours sincerely, Manohar Parrikar Chief Minister of Goa > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: ""Nagesh Bhatcar"" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2004 10:34 AM > Subject: RE: [Goanet]Goa's Electricity Woes -- > > > > Nagesh, > > > > That was certainly some good inside info on the workings of Goa's > electricity department... I believe "Corruption" is certainly a big > > problem that plagues the public sector in Goa, with the PWD being even > > more notorious. It seems that the biggest hurdle in improving Goa's > electricity infrastructure is the "Corruption" factor. > > > > And as you pointed out with all the defective equipment that has been > > installed, this is a clear indicator that Goa's electric transmission and > distribution infrastructure is a highly defective and faulty one, which > includes defective and faulty meters etc. Part of the reason for the > defective equipment is again attributable to "corruption" where the purchase > officer cuts a deal with the supplier and takes a under the table cut in > exchange for the defective equipment that the supplier provides. > > > > The government has announced plans for underground cabling at the two > major cities in Panjim and Margao ... this is a good opportunity to make a > start and while doing this underground cabling atleast in these two cities, > the transmission and distribution system can be completely overhauled... and > as the process slowly migrates to other parts of Goa, eventually the entire > infrastructure can be overhauled in "phases" begining with the sanctioned > projects in these two cities. > > > > Another development is the "Corporatization" or privatization of the > electricity department, which has been approved by the CM recently. Cities > like Delhi have privatized their electricity utility services and has seen a > great improvement in service. Perhaps we can hope for a similar improvement > in Goa. If the Electricity service now operates as an "efficient > corporation" and free from the bureaucracy! > > > > Another question to be asked is who is paying ultimately for the power > that is lost in the defective transmission system, including the pilferage ? > > > > The voltage fluctuations are again a problem caused by a defective system. > > > > It is a serious problem that eventually does need to be fully "fixed" we > certainly can't expect to go on this way... as with the growth that occurs > in the state, more residential and commercial consumers, the defective and > faulty system will end up being a great catastrophe waiting to happen ! > > > > Revamping the system, while it being an ardous task is not something which > is inconceivable. In the developed countries, which started out with the > older generation of the electricity infrastructure, have been able to phase > out the old and modernize the infrastructure to keep up with the times... so > there is a lot of expertise available in terms of consultancy services in > this sector on how to effectively phase out an antiquated electricity > infrastructure and phase-in a modernized one. > > > > For example, for the IFFI (Film Festival) infrastructure development, the > government has retained the consultancy services of a Canadian Firm with > Experience at Cannes and French film festivals. In the power sector there > are many MNCs that could similarly retained to provide consultancy expertise > on how to cost-effectively revamp Goa's electricity infrastructure ... one > really good company is the Japanese corporation TMT&D http://www.tmt-d.com > > > > In terms of financial support, Goa could reach out to global resources > such as the Asia development bank (ADB) ... some of the northeastern states > in India have secured financing from ADB to develop their electricity > infrastructure. > > > > While the central government has launched huge electricity development > projects elsewhere in India, the Goa government has not been able to > adequetly "impress" upon the centre the dire needs required in Goa, but > instead have been projecting this false image that Goa is trading in surplus > power, and hence does not need assistance from the Center to revamp the > infrastructure. So this claim about trading in surplus power has only come > back to shoot Goa in the foot ! > > > > -- Brian Antao ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
