Sushilkumar Shinde took over as Power Minister of India on 29 January 2006. In view of the critical situation on the power front, there was the need to give a great fillip to the completion of ongoing power projects. True to his style, Sushilkumar Shinde got down to the job. His tireless monitoring of the progress of various projects, regular visits to project sites and constant interaction with the project officials have started giving dividends. But what has come to the foremost vividly is his capability to analyse each and every issue threadbare and then identify its solution. This facet of his performance is usually overshadowed due to the flurry of activity that follows him.

 

As a first step in tackling the power crisis in India, Shinde freely interacted with the bureaucrats and technocrats to find out why the implementation was lagging.

 

In the Tenth Plan, only 21,180 MW was achieved against the target of 41,110 MW. But this did not deter Sushilkumar Shinde. He set an even higher target of 78,577 MW for the 11th Plan, keeping in view the widespread shortages and growing energy demands of the country. The officials around him soon learnt that Sushilkumar Shinde was not going to be content by merely setting a stiff target. He pushed and prodded various agencies and state governments to ensure that orders for machinery for the projects were placed with the manufacturers during the first year of the 11th Plan itself.

 

Because of his relentless efforts, within 11 months into the 11th Plan, machinery for plants capable of generating 70,000 MW had been ordered and projects to generate over 70,000 MW were actually under construction. Seeing this pace, even experts Started saying it was possible to achieve the 11th Plan target in the given timeframe.

 

Another lasting contribution that Shinde has made is his initiative in roping in the private sector in power generation. Constant interactions with the business fraternity and captains of industry started producing the desired results very soon. Various public and private enterprises collaborated with one another as well as with international manufacturers setting up manufacturing units. But this did not happen overnight. Sushilkumar Shinde addressed dozens of gatherings of captains of industry by with CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM and other Chambers of Commerce.

 

The next step was to award the huge Ultra Mega Power Projects, each of 4000 MW and costing Rs.16,000 crore. The basis of bidding was the cheapest tariff so that the benefit went to the masses. (Though it may seem unbelievable today, five years down the line, power from these projects will be available at just Rs.1.19 per unit.)

 

Another fascination that seized Sushilkumar Shinde was hydropower. He learnt that the Himalayan ranges have close to 150,000 MW hydropower potential. Against this, the entire country had developed a hydro capacity of just 35,379 MW by the end of 2007. Sushilkumar Shinde decided to involve the private sector in tapping this potential, too.

 

However, given the remoteness of the locations, issues concerning the environment and rehabilitation as well as geological challenges, private players were not too eager to participate. To persuade them, Sushilkumar Shinde prepared a risk-reward equation which is in-built in the new hydro policy, ratified by the Union cabinet in February 2008. Accordingly, private entrepreneurs can take up projects on the basis of MoUs signed until January 2011. In return, they will be permitted merchant sale of up to 40 per cent of the saleable power.

 

The efforts Sushilkumar Shinde undertook had a human face, too. At the centre of such activities were the project affected persons (PAPs). Host states which would bear the environmental and human costs of these projects also received consideration. Earlier, the states generating hydropower used to get 12 per cent of the power generated as free power. The new Policy policy formulated by Shine raised this by another one per cent, exclusively earmarked for the local area development so that the community around the project also benefited from it and would have a stake.

 

The unique and path-breaking measure for which Sushilkumar Shinde will go down in history was his success in getting the Cabinet's approval for his proposal that provides for every family affected by a hydro project to receive 100 units of electricity per month free for 10 years. This was meant to ensure that the project-affected families had an assured revenue stream as well as a tangible long term benefit arising out of a project for which they may have lost their lands. This Policy also tried to address the problem of darkness in the area around a power project. The Policy provided that henceforth, developers of hydro projects would contribute 10 per cent of the state's outlay under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (Rural Electrification Plan) known popularly as RGGVY. This proviso was introduced to accelerate the compulsory electrification of project-affected areas.

 

Another human aspect of the new Policy is that the project developers will have to set up Industrial Training Institutes on project sites as soon as work on a project begins. These measures were introduced to make the passage of hydro projects smooth by winning the support of the local people.

 

Fully aware that in future India will have to carry its own share of the burden in reducing carbon emissions, Sushilkumar Shinde's thrust on the hydro sector would significantly clean the fuel mix of the Indian energy sector.

 

Ever an advocate of the poor, Sushilkumar Shinde took the RGGVY very seriously. RGGVY had the target of electrifying 10,000 villages in the first year ending 31 March 2006. Within two years, nearly 46,000 villages were electrified, achieving an unprecedented speed.

 

Energy conservation had been the less glamorous side of the power sector. But this did not escape Sushilkumar Shinde's attention either. He released an Energy Conservation Building Code which would make new buildings energy-efficient. He estimated that almost 20 per cent of our total consumption or 28,000 MW of power could be saved in the country. Installing such a capacity would require Rs.112,000 crore.

 

In Sushilkumar Shinde, the power sector received the leadership it needed. His basic principle seeking 'Clean, cheap, sufficient and sustainable power to all' will serve as a potent tool to establish social justice.