Ratle power project in Jammu & Kashmir faces uncertainty as MEIL accuses BJP MLA of interference
SRINAGAR: Uncertainty has enveloped the 850 MW Ratle power project in Jammu and Kashmir after Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL), the executing company, accused a local BJP MLA of interference and threatened to halt work on the project indefinitely. Harpal Singh, Joint Chief Operating Officer of MEIL, told this newspaper that the local MLA, Shagun Parihar, has been pressuring the company to remove workers who did not vote for her during last years assembly polls and replace them with supporters. He alleged that the MLA specifically wants employees from a particular community replaced by members of another community. The MLA wants to create a communal divide in the area. There is no space for such activities in a democratic country. We should be kept away from politics and be allowed to continue work, Singh said. The Rs 3,700 crore Ratle project, a joint venture between the J&K government and NHPC, is being constructed on the Chenab River in the Drabshala area of Kishtwar. Of the 1,434 workers currently employed at the site, around 960 are from Kishtwar district. Singh said nearly 80 percent of the workforce had earlier been engaged on recommendations from BJP leaders. Singh alleged that since December 4, the MLA and her local supporters, who are not company employees, have been threatening and coercing workers and officers to meet their demands. On December 4 evening, the companys HR head Burhan was assaulted near Joshana village while returning to his residence near the project site. An FIR was registered by police after we took up the issue with DC, he said. The Jt CEO said the company had identified around 300 surplus workers and sought permission from the Regional Labour Commissioner, Jammu, in September to retrench them. While permission was granted, MEIL retrenched only 200 workers, giving an undertaking that they would be re-employed if needed in the future, Singh said. He alleged that tactics such as work stoppages, assaults, and false court cases were being used to blackmail the company but ruled out any fresh recruitment under pressure. If outside people do not allow us to work, we may have to leave this project and stop work for an indefinite period, he warned, alleging that the MLA was instigating people to shut down the project. Singh added that workers in the project are associated with two unions, both of which have confirmed in writing that there is no dispute with the company and they do not want the project to stop. He cautioned that MEILs exit would result in heavy financial losses due to bank guarantees and investments, while also harming J&K and the local workforce. The Ratle project, awarded to MEIL in April 2022, is scheduled for completion in September 2026, a timeline Singh described as increasingly uncertain. He warned that a non-conducive atmosphere could compromise the dams safety and quality and sought intervention from both local and central governments, including writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding undue interference by the BJP MLA. The BJP MLA could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts, while BJP spokesman Sunil Sethi said he had no information on the issue. Local PDP leader Firdous Tak accused the BJP of politicising power projects in the region, including employment, contract allotment, and now the retrenchment of employees. BJP has always attempted to control the management of the hydel projects, which otherwise could have been the backbone of the hilly region, he said. Be it the election bond or local political management of BJP, these hydel companies have been one of the biggest financial contributors of the ruling party, he added.
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