New and Renewable Energy Ministry pulled up by Par panel

A Parliamentary Committee has pulled up the New and Renewable Energy Ministry for blaming global recession as reason to "cover its weaknesses in implementing and monitoring wind energy related projects".

Commenting on the ministry's performance in the last fiscal, the Standing Committee on Energy observed that in the wind power sector it had achieved only 28.3 per cent of the annual target till January 2010.

"By blaming recession in the wind industry, the ministry has tried to shift the attention of the committee from their own weaknesses in implementation and monitoring to an external factor of recession," it said in its report tabled today.

The Farooq Abdullah-led Ministry had said the shortfall in achieving targets was due to recession in the industry.

"The recession might have affected the performance to some extent but the ministry took it too far to cover their own lack of sincere efforts," the report further observed.

On the ministry's performance in other new energy sectors including hydel plants and light water mills, the committee, headed by SP Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, said it was "surprised" as achievements in these sectors was far behind the target marks.

The report said the ministry could manage to produce only 1301.47 MW up to January 31 this year against the planned target of 3224 MW under off-grid programmes for the last financial year.

The Committee said it had expected the ministry to carry out periodical review of projects and initiate corrective steps to meet the goals of the 11th Five Year Plan for wind energy.

"That this was not done is nothing but regrettable," it observed and asked the ministry to implement its recommendations in letter and spirit.

It expressed "surprise" that the ministry had furnished "incomplete and insufficient" information regarding small hydro power projects, which was the most under-utilised area of the renewable energy.