As the Shiv Sena and BJP plunged into Maharashtra’s worsening power crisis—attacking electricity board offices— the confused state government had only two reactions: wait for the monsoon, or blame it all on a former Indian home secretary. Known for his integrity, that retired IAS officer is Madhav Godbole, who has angrily rejected suggestions that he was somehow responsible for the sorry state. No power projects were planned since the giant Enron plant was forced to close in 2001, and there’s nothing but a handful of vague paper agreements with eight private companies signed last month. ‘‘He (Godbole) is a person with negative mentality,’’ NCP chief Sharad Pawar raged in 2001 when the former IAS officer recommended a judicial inquiry into the agreement that led to the signing of India’s largest private-sector power project, a deal that nearly wrecked Pawar’s political career. Now, Pawar has latched onto the opportunity to renew the tirade against Godbole. ‘‘The committee’s projections for electricity requirement were wrong,’’ Pawar said in Pune last week. ‘‘It anticipated there would be surplus power in Maharashtra by 2005. Today, we have a shortage.’’ The line adopted by coalition partners, the Congress, is humbler: a state with a debt of Rs 1.1 lakh crore has no money. On Godbole and Enron, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has just this to say: ‘‘First we spent five years to bring in Enron and then spent five years to pack it off.’’ What Pawar fails to mention—but Godbole did today—is that the Energy Review Committee headed by him made projections of surplus power assuming Enron would be revived. ‘‘I will not speak again on this matter,’’ said Godbole. And here’s something Godbole’s committee never factored: free power to farmers announced by the NCP-Congress during 2004 elections. ‘‘Many people from various levels were involved in the Enron mess,’’ said Ashoke Basak, former chairman of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB). ‘‘But the crisis worsened when politicians took over everything.’’ Ask NCP’s Energy Minister Dilip Walse-Patil and he flourishes the MoUs he’s just signed with private companies totalling 12,500 MW. But MoUs often mean nothing. A fuzzy power policy caused Reliance and Ispat to shelve their plans two years ago. Clearly, there’s no magic wand. But there’s Enron, which experts say can still be started up within six months, after fixing the dispute over the cost of its power. And a new power project will take at least five years. Enron’s phase two was ready with another 2,450 MW—half of today’s shortfall—when Sena chief Bal Thackery threatened to throw the plant into the sea. (With Shailesh Gaikwad) Sena vandalises state power office in Kalyan MUMBAI: After Pune, it was Kalyan’s turn to witness a Sena protest against power crisis. On Tuesday, 400 Shiv Sainiks marched into the MSEB office here to ‘‘discuss’’ the daily four-hour blackouts. Led by Sena legislator Eknath Shinde, activists started by smashing chairs. The police intervened and stopped the ‘‘discussion’’. But once outside, the activits broke the window panes. Before leaving, they issued an ultimatum: ‘‘Stop the blackouts or we will ask people to stop paying bills and respond in the‘Sena way’’. —ENS
