PDP’s Parra Pledges Power Project Return: Kashmir’s Development Agenda
Srinagar- People’s Democratic Party Youth President and parliamentary candidate for Srinagar-Pulwama Constituency, Waheed Ur Rehman Parra, on Monday said that if his party is voted in the coming Lok Sabha elections, they will rigorously pursue the return of power projects from NHPC.
Parra made these remarks while addressing a public meeting in Rajpora area of Pulwama. “PDP will leave no stone unturned to press the government in the Parliament to return our power projects if voted in the coming elections,” Parra said.
“We will fight to reclaim our resources and will leave no stone unturned to ensure that they are returned to us. Under the leadership of PDP President Mehbooba Mufti Sahiba, the youth of Jammu and Kashmir are determined to fight for their rights and the betterment of their homeland,” Parra added.
He mentioned that over the years, numerous electricity projects, vital for the development and prosperity of Jammu and Kashmir, have been handed over to NHPC by previous governments other than PDP. This transfer has not only deprived the state of its rightful resources but has also hindered the progress of our region.
“PDP has from the very beginning been against such a surrender of state resources and rejected the proposal of handing over Ratle when it was in power. PDP made the people of Jammu and Kashmir aware of their rights which had been given away by previous governments, since they were working only as power brokers and commission agents,” he said.
Parra asserted that it was after 2002 that these issues were being debated in Jammu and Kashmir, whether it is J&K Bank, extension of central laws, or the sell-out of power projects.
“The electricity projects in question are an essential asset for the development of Jammu and Kashmir. They hold the potential to provide ample electricity to every household, industry, and institution. However, their transfer to NHPC has created obstacles in the path towards achieving this goal,” Parra said, adding that the rightful ownership of these projects lies with the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Parra demanded that the Centre should return power projects to Jammu and Kashmir without wasting any further time so that hundreds of crores of rupees spent on import of electricity are saved. Exploitation of water resources of the Jammu and Kashmir by NHPC appears not to be for the benefit of people of the state, he added.
