Lights out in power ministry

Despite the hype and expectations, the ministry of power continues to hold back progressive initiatives of successive Central governments. T...

Despite the hype and expectations, the ministry of power continues to hold back progressive initiatives of successive Central governments. The growth graph in the power sector remains sluggish and no significant milestone has been reached in the last four-five years. This despite the fact that power is a pivotal sector directly related to overall economic growth. Suresh Prabhu was one minister who tried to push the sector in the right direction but subsequent ministers from the Shiv Sena proved to be disastrous. Led by a technocrat, the bureaucracy in the sector has further added to the rot. Of all sources, hydel power has been ignored. Ambitious projects like Nathpa-Jhakhri require a CBI investigation to pin responsibility on vested interests in the ministry. Otherwise who will take responsibility for such projects that did not take off and ended up producing not a single MW of power?

The story of rot within the ministry is appalling simply because it is so pervasive. PSUs under the ministry are being hastily populated with favourites and talent or performance count for little. Power projects in the Northeast are being doled out to favourite companies, without the knowledge of even the prime minister.

Of late technocrats have seized complete control of the ministry8217;s affairs taking full advantage of late Power Minister P.M. Sayeed8217;s ill health for a full year. It is time our prime minister brought in a competent minister at the helm, one who is well-versed with the intricacies of all dimensions of the power sector. The ministry also needs bureaucrats who are honest, knowledgeable about the assignment, decisive and not aligned with any particular player.

Rajnath Singh8217;s pole vault

Rajnath Singh8217;s selection as BJP president has proved that infighting in the second line of leadership has paved the way for leaders of next rung to take over the party. Rajnath Singh could be another Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in the making though Shekhawat could never become president despite Atal Bihari Vajpayee pushing his case. Shekhawat8217;s poor raport with the RSS stopped him from grabbing the top slot.

The rise has been truly meteoric in Rajnath8217;s case, who was just a minister in Kalyan Singh8217;s government in Uttar Pradesh ten years ago. What a decade it has been for him: the dark horse who became chief minister of India8217;s largest state, got Cabinet rank in the Union council of ministers and is now president of the BJP, anointed despite the presence of stalwarts like Murli Manohar Joshi and Jaswant Singh, as well as prominent second-generation leaders like Sushma Swaraj, Vankaiah Naidu, Arun Jaitley and Pramod Mahajan. His coronation could inflict direct damage to the Samajwadi Party in UP as Rajputs would prefer to align themselves with Rajnath Singh8217;s BJP. One should not be surprised if Raja Bhaiyya joins hands with him soon. Rajnath8217;s task is nonetheless tough 8212; not only must he revive a dead party network in UP, but the situation in many other states requires similar resuscitation too.

This transferring habit

If the National Advisory Council has its way, officials and bureaucrats of Congress-ruled states will not have to worry about frequent transfers. Uttar Pradesh, in contrast, has the dubious distinction of having an administration where monthly transfers are the norm rather than the exception. The proposal to provide stability to a bureaucrat has been around for seven-eight years since the then cabinet secretary, T.S.R. Subramaniam, mooted it most emphatically. This time, a letter to the prime minister by the Sonia Gandhi-led NAC carried suggestions to similar effect, and the response from the states has been encouraging.

The writer is a Congress MP in the Rajya Sabha