Cities in Punjab have erupted in rage over unbearable loadshedding, often unscheduled, which now ranges from 12 to 18 hours a day. Angry mobs across the province, mostly comprising factory workers and daily wage earners, blocked roads for the second day on Monday, burned tires and shouted slogans. At some places, the crowds became violent and damaged public and private property. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has given it a provincial tilt by accusing the federal government of deliberately destroying business and industry in the province.
Punjab government has failed to produce electricity and putting the entire blame on the federal government, and adding the blame of ransacking and burning of state property, are not rendering any service to the nation. The Punjab government is backing protests against the government under the cover of energy crisis, which works not only against democracy but also against the country. The two-thirds majority government did not produce even a single unit of electricity rather they have squeezed the IPPs through false allegations of corruption; therefore they (IPPs) had to stop expansion and reduce capacity of electricity generation.
In Feb 2012, Punjab Energy Secretary Rab Nawaz revealed that the Punjab government was creating legislation to manage energy generation and distribution inside a fair and transparent manner that is likely to help overcome energy crisis within the province. He said that a 50-megawatt energy plant had been built in the M-3 Industrial City and a 25-megawatt plant in the Small Industrial Estate Sargodha Road, which may help provide continuous electricity supply to industrial models of Faisalabad. Where has that legislation gone? What about the energy plants built in different cities of Punjab?
Following the 18th amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan, the provinces are now vested with full authority to develop power projects of any capacity through public or private sector and establish required regulatory framework. In view of lingering energy crisis and opportunity provided by the new enabling framework.
Punjab Power Policy 2009 provides a framework for the development of power plants in both public and private sector as well for joint venture projects. The policy is intended to promote all types of technologies including hydel, coal, solar, wind and bio-mass.
Hydel projects in the private sector would be implemented on Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis while other projects in the private sector can be established on either BOOT basis or on Build-Own-Operate (BOO) basis. Provinces are independent in producing electricity.
Will the Punjab government tell the people how much electricity it has produced since it got the NFC share? After the passage of 18th Amendment, the provincial governments could install power-generation units, but the Punjab government has not taken any steps to produce even a single unit.
Joint efforts were required to overcome energy crisis in the country whereas the Punjab government is doing politics over the issue. Why is every fault of the Punjab government put on the shoulders of federal government?
SAMINA AMIR MALIK
Islamabad
