The Hindu Business Line : Accelerated power plan recast likely in Budget

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New Delhi Feb. 19 The Centre is likely to announce a recast of its key reform tool in the power sector — the Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (APDRP) — to provide a fresh impetus to the ongoing efforts to incentivise States to turn around the power distribution sector. In the coming Budget, an announcement on the fine-tuning of some provisions of the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) is also likely, Government officials said.

An announcement on increased focus on execution of projects in the power generation and transmission sectors on the basis of competitive bidding, as is being done in case of the Ultra Mega Power projects, is also expected.

According to officials, the recast APDRP would focus entirely on the power distribution system and funds under the programme would be extended directly to distribution utilities, instead of the current system of routing it through state governments, officials said. This comes in the wake of instances of several states delaying transfer of APDRP funds to concerned distribution utilities.

Private distribution utilities, which are currently not part of the scheme, are also likely to be made eligible for funds under the scheme from the next fiscal, they said. Performance milestones are likely to be made stricter and funds would be linked to clearly defined milestones and would be made project-specific.

Funds under APDRP, meant essentially for upgradation and modernisation of the distribution system, would be handed out to distribution utilities only on issuance of utilisation certificates for money cleared in the previous rounds. States are currently extended funds in the form of grants and loans in the ratio of 25:75 under the scheme.

The RGGVY would also be continued during the Eleventh Plan and some restructuring of the provisions of the scheme is expected, officials said.