The Maharashtra government established a four-member committee, headed by the joint secretary of the energy department Uddhav Walunj, to investigate the implementation of various transmission projects carried out under the Power System Development Fund (PSDF) and Green Energy Corridor (GEC) by the Maharashtra State Power Transmission Company (MahaTransco). At the recent review meeting, it was noticed that some projects were cancelled. MahaTransco is yet to implement the others.
The committee will probe the lacunae in MahaTransco’s planning and the lack of response to its tenders and delay in a few projects. In some cases, it was noticed that MahaTransco had not taken the Centre’s approval, especially when its funding was involved in the project implementation.
The state energy department, under secretary Shraddha Kocharekar, in the government resolution, clearly said that the implementation of a slew of transmission projects and related work undertaken under the PSDF and GEC was not satisfactory. Therefore, the government has ordered a probe.
The PSDF is utilised to create necessary transmission systems of strategic importance based on operational feedback by Load Dispatch Centres to relieve congestion in Inter-State Transmission Systems (ISTS) and Intra-State System, which are incidental to the ISTS. GEC is being implemented in eight renewable rich states of Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh by their respective State Transmission Utilities (STUs) to support large scale renewable energy evacuation.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Regional Congress Committee Bhai Jagtap targeted Energy Minister Nitin Raut and said his directions are not being followed by MahaTransco. Jagtap, who participated in the agitation launched by MahaTransco at its Bandra office, hoped that the minister will meet the demands made by the employees. However, if no action is taken, the MahaTransco employees will demand Raut’s resignation.
