In 10 Years, JK’s Electricity Bill Reaches To Rs 40K Crore

Resources of Jammu and Kashmir might be illuminating thousands of homes across India but new union territory is suffering for want of power and has to purchase electricity from thousands of crores annually.} J&K is having vast hydropower potential from where electricity is being supplied to several parts of India. The electricity generated in JK is illuminating to thousands of homes in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. To the contrary, it is a craving for power. Bashir Ahmad, a resident of Ashipora Handwara in North Kashmir said they witness frequent power cuts. “There are at least 20 power cuts of eight hours in a day. We don’t know when the power supply will turn off” he said. For the last 10 years, the Jammu and Kashmir government has purchased power for Rs 40,000 crore from various power generation corporations. As per official figures, during 2011-12, Rs 3761.52 crore was spent on power purchases. In 2012-13, expenditure on power purchases was Rs 4103 crore. During 2017-18, 2018-19, each year over Rs 6000 crore was spent on power purchase.