Learn to sift facts from allegations and do what is best for Sikkim

VIEW POINT/ PINTSO TASHI LEPCHA
Pay no attention to what the critics say. Remember, a statue has never been set up in honour of a critic – Jean Sibelius
This is what I would suggest to the State Government given the rumour mongers trying to cry hoarse all around in Sikkim. Critics seem to be present everywhere. At home, at work, in social dos, at funerals, marriages and even in share taxis! We are becoming very good critics if nothing else. We have been gripped by an insatiable hunger to criticise. We never miss an opportunity to lambast the Government, mock its policies, jeer at its decisions, and criticise, criticise and criticise! We even target individuals depending on our mood!
I have nothing for or against the Government or anybody. I am just an average Sikkimese who believes in verifying facts before jumping the gun. That is all I want others also to do. Facts have to be brought to light and falsehoods have to be shunned. We cannot claim to be good citizens if we do not have the faculty of discrimination, if we do not have a sense of right and wrong.
Power projects in Sikkim have become a talking point. They have become everyone’s pet subject. In matters of economic proposition, hydro-power generation has provided a very convenient handle to individuals opposed to development and the ruling government, never failing to whip up local sentiments trying to impose individual wishes and settle political score. We hear of hydel project scams running into astronomical figures which are based on very complicated arithmetic beyond a lay persons understanding. And the figures keep increasing everyday in mysterious ways.
We live in a democracy and it is perfectly acceptable to criticise the Government and voice resentment. But we cannot create allegations out of sheer imagination. If to criticise is a right, then to examine the facts is a duty that all of us have.
As a layman, I understand that hydel projects are not an overnight phenomenon. They did not just appear out of the blue. They are the result of years of deliberations, meetings, discussions and paperwork. And Sikkim can no longer afford to live in exalted isolation being part of a federal democracy. It is answerable to the Central Government for all its actions.
We all know that whatever initiatives the State Governments take, they have to be in tandem with the policies of the Central Government. So why would hydel projects be an exception? The hydel projects have to be executed as per the National Policy of Government of India, The National Electricity Policy and under the Electricity Act. In the recent meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he highlighted the need for additional power generation in the next few years. The Central Government has also recently decided to give major push to infrastructure creation including increase in power capacity by another 18,000 MW.
Those of us who have been tracking the development of hydel projects very closely in Sikkim are aware of the Investors Meet(s) that were held in not so distant past so as to forget. There was widespread coverage in the media about these meets. It was in these meets that the State Government extended its invitation to industries and power developers to be a part of the developmental process of Sikkim.
The work of the State Government paid off when a number of reputed power developers visited and expressed their decision to invest in development of hydel projects in Sikkim. For hydel projects at the State Level, a Hydro Committee was also constituted in 2004 with the Chief Secretary heading the Committee. As a result the State Government signed Implementation Agreements for 32 hydroelectric power projects with a total installed capacity of around 4300 MW to various Independent Power Producers (IPPs) including NHPC.
As per the Clauses enshrined in the Implementation Agreement (IA) entered into with the developers, certain deadlines had to be achieved by the developer.
Since the developers could not adhere to certain specification in the agreement due to various reasons, as per officials of the Energy & Power Department, total of 16 (sixteen) Projects have been scrapped/cancelled as on date.
Therefore, the Implementation Agreements has been valid for only 20 power projects of which two projects namely – 510 MW Teesta-IV HEP and 60 MW Rangit-II HEP have already been commissioned and the remaining 18 projects with total installed capacity of 3774.50 MW are under various stages of execution. This is known to all.
After the devastating September 18th earthquake, we went crazy blaming the hydel projects for the earthquake. But we refuse to admit that hydel projects DO NOT cause earthquakes. To the extent that the devastating earthquake delayed the developmental process of the state which is open for everyone to see.
In our bid to criticise and scream and shout, we become blind to the benefits industries like hydel projects and pharmaceuticals have brought to the Sikkimese people. These industries have generated direct and indirect employment to thousands of Sikkimese people under various categories of employment generating handsome revenue to the state. But employment? You must be kidding! Employment for us strictly means a government job. Nothing less, nothing more.
Sikkim for the nth time is a hilly area with difficult terrain. I don’t think the Sultan of Brunei would be interested to have a Formula One racing track here. Or Nokia would be interested to open a factory in Sikkim. So we have to identify and rely on our natural resources and assets that will make us self-reliant. Countries like Bhutan and Canada have realised this fact early. Bhutan and Canada that have been doing extremely well in the hydel project sector.
The success of the Tala project has spurred Bhutan to develop its hydro-power resources. Primarily fuelled by the hydro-power projects, especially after the commissioning of the Tala project in the middle of the last decade, Bhutan's GDP growth has averaged over 7 per cent during the past six years. In 2007 and 2008, Bhutan actually grew faster than China, with growth rates of 12.6 per cent and 10.8 per cent respectively, according to Asian Development Bank estimates. Bhutan's economy is projected to grow at 7.2 per cent this year, according to estimates firmed up by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
Faced with the challenges of climate and territory, the Canadian energy industry has developed expertise in the generation and transmission of energy, in particular clean, reliable and renewable hydroelectric power. Over the years, Canada has also become world-renowned for its hydro power project design and construction. That today the country is home to some of the largest and most powerful hydro power facilities in the world, eg:
• Churchill Falls underground power plant in Labrador (5429MW).
• Robert-Bourassa Complex near James Bay, Quèbec (5328MW).
• Daniel-Johnson arch and buttress dam on the Manicouagan river, Quèbec (214m high).
Today there are approximately 450 hydroelectric power plants operating in Canada and more than 200 small hydro plants (<10 MW). Canada also has more than 800 dams that are used for hydroelectric power generation, irrigation and flood control. With an installed capacity of 67,121MW (year 2000) Canada is the world’s biggest producer of hydro power, leading the US, Brazil, China and Russia with production of more than 13% of the global output of hydro power.
Canada generates about 350TWh/yr of hydro power, an amount that represents more than 60% of the country’s total electricity production, and further opportunities remain for new hydro power project development across the territory. Another 118,000MW of hydro power, twice the amount that is currently in operation, could technically be developed. Every province has some remaining potential.
Hydro power projects must undergo a lengthy regulatory process, including comprehensive environmental assessment and public consultations. This regulatory process significantly slows down the development of new hydro power projects. However, the growing concern for greenhouse gas emissions should lead to the development of new hydro capacity to address climate change while helping to meet growing electricity demand. Electricity consumption has increased by only 2.2% (year 2000), and the average projected increase is 1.3% per year over the next two decades.
So if Bhutan and Canada can reap benefits from hydel projects, why not Sikkim? The only thing that keeps us from deriving benefits is our cynical attitude and an attitude that promotes individualism rather than collectivism. We have to see the larger picture instead of indulging in blame game and mudslinging. If we continue to resort to blame game among ourselves, no one will be the winner. It will become endless in an era of number games. People from other states hardly care and people from New Delhi would also not be bothered to listen to our wranglings at a very local level in Sikkim. Therefore, the loss is all ours while others in other parts of the Country are entangled with their own problems..!
In any case, we need to understand that all these power projects in Sikkim are under Build Operate Own and Transfer basis. After 35 years, projects would be handed over to the State Government and the land would be reverted back to the Government. Unused land will be reverted to t6he land owners after the project is reverted to the State Government.
The State Government has confirmed that the Government has never stood guarantor to all the projects and has agreed upon to invest its 30 percent of equity share towards completion and commissioning period to save ourselves from interest payment. Sounds very rational. The 12% free power and 15% free power after 15 years is a foregone conclusion. The state will get free power and as per equity share, dividend will come to the Government revenue.
Among claims and counter-claims, let truth prevail. All the power projects once commissioned/ completed will add approximately 2,000 crore as revenue to the State Government. Apart from this, Sikkimese people have directly or indirectly got employment opportunities.
We hear or overhear talk about winds of change blowing hard all around. But let me inform you about the People’s Action Party of Singapore. It is undoubtedly the most prominent political party in Singapore's history. Ever since winning the 1959 GE to form the government, it has made the then mosquito net of Asia into a first world country under Lee Kuan Yew. He served as Singapore's first Prime Minister for 32 years and PAP's secretary-general for nearly 40 years. PAP has been able to retain its invincible position because the people of Singapore know that it is a party with a vision and mission, a party that delivers on its commitments.
Therefore, there is no force and rationale in the argument of change without any qualifying character to it. We say Change for better. Is the purported alternative better than this?? This is a question that people must always define. Like in Singapore, we can well visualize the same leadership and party as long it does not deviate from the principle and ideals that it stands for in the interest of the Sikkimese people, State and the Nation.
The State Government has said again and again on its commitment to make Sikkim the best state in the country. It has set certain deadlines for itself to achieve the targets. This is only possible if we put our unwavering faith and trust in the Government and let it work in the best interest of the Sikkimese people.
We must not falter because of the criticisms and allegations. We must continue doing whatever is in the best interest of the Sikkimese people even if it means upsetting a handful of those who can never be pleased.
[The writer is a resident of Rinchenpong]