'Power wars' on in Goa; need more allocation from Centre: Minister

Panaji, April 20 Goa is facing 'power wars' because the quantum of power allocated to the state by the Centre was not enough to fuel industrial development anymore, state Industries Minister Mauvin Godinho said on Wednesday.

Godinho, who returned from an official visit to the national capital has also hinted at tweaking the state's industrial policy to facilitate ease of business practices for new industries keen on setting up base in Goa.

"Certainly there are power wars as far as industry is concerned. We should re-address this and I am happy that the Power Minister met the Chief Minister and the CM was kind enough to immediately agree, because industrialisation is required. Existing industry has to survive well,without incurring additional cost to make the industry itself unviable. This should not happen," he said.

Over the last couple of weeks, delegations of various industry associations met top government officials including Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Power Minister Sudin Dhavalikar and Industries Minister Mauvin Godinho to complain about consistent power outages in the coastal state.

Following their plea, the state government has now decided to purchase nearly 120 megawatts of power from the open market and make it available to commercial establishments in Goa. The government is also vetting a Power Ministry proposal to buy another batch of 125 megawatt power to tide over shortages in the future.

Industry representatives also told the media that they were willing to pay the additional cost incurred by the government to purchase the additional power.

"I am happy that the present industrial people have come forward and said we will pay the difference. They know that power is the cheapest in Goa when you compare it to other states. So even if they pay marginally little more, out of the direct power purchased from the open market, still it will be less," Godinho said.

"I think we should also try for more allocation from the Centre from the central grid. What we were allocated that time was more, but now with more industries coming, more development, more tourists coming, power consumption per capita has taken a quantum jump. Centre will look at us kindly and give us more power," Godinho said.

The Industries Minister also said that he had directed his Ministry's officials to scan industrial policies in other states and look for best industrial practices which can be implemented in the state.

"The best practices will be adopted from other states and their policies. Even if the Goa Industrial Development Act act needs to be tweaked or the industrial policy needs to be changed, we want to do it on a permanent basis," he said.