With the state’s power deficit all set to cross a whopping Rs 2,000-crore mark till the end of the current financial year, the Centre has snubbed Jammu and Kashmir for implementing at a slow pace the Restructured-Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (R-APDRP) initiated to bring down transmission and distribution (T&D) losses. Official sources told The Tribune that the Union government expressed its displeasure over ‘unplanned utilisation’ of funds sanctioned under the R-APDRP to lower the transmission and distribution losses. “The Centre has conveyed its unhappiness over the slow pace of implementing the programme and diversion of allocated funds to areas other than those identified under the programme,” the sources said, adding that the Central government had also directed the state’s Power Development Department (PDD) to strictly follow guidelines for implementation of the project. The Central government had launched the APDRP in 2000-01 as a last measure for restoring the commercial viability of the distribution sector after financial health of the State Electricity Boards (SEBs) became a matter of concern considering that their losses had reached an alarming level. The programme was also aimed at improving the financial viability of state power utilities, reduction of transmission and distribution losses and increasing reliability and quality of power supply. Sources disclosed that the Centre had recently approved Rs 1,780 crore under the Prime Minister Reconstruction Programme (PMRP) for upgradation of the power sector in the state, while Rs 3,900 crore had already been given under the APDRP to the state since the launch of the programme. “A major portion of the amount sanctioned under the scheme was utilised for the purchase of power following growing demand for electricity in the state, while the reform sector was virtually neglected,” said the sources. The sources said earlier only 30 small towns (11 in Jammu division and 19 in Kashmir division) with a population of more than 10,000 were identified and covered under the scheme. “Following the growing demand for electricity and increasing T&D losses, the Centre had last year approved the state government’s proposal for upgradation of the power sector by including 288 more towns and cities under the programme. The Centre had fixed a three-year deadline for raising the infrastructure, including grid stations, new transmission lines and feeders, in these cities and towns,” disclosed the sources. A senior PDD official, who declined to be identified, said the department had prepared the Detail Project Reports (DPRs) of 125 small towns with a population of more than 4,000 of Jammu division thus far, while the DPRs of other towns and villages in the Kashmir and Ladakh regions were being prepared. “Initially, the state government had faced several hurdles over implementing the programme and a glaring example was the e-metering project. The e-metering project has not been completed even after six long years,” the officer said. “Now, the department is religiously following the guidelines. We were successful in bringing down the T&D losses by 3 per cent last year,” he added. The Minister (in charge) for Power, Shabir Ahmed Khan, was not available for comments.