It defies logic that twelve long years have not been enough to revive even a modest 9 MW hydroelectric project in Jammu and Kashmir. The Sewa-III Hydroelectric Project in Mashka, Basohli—once commissioned with optimism in 2002—has remained defunct since 2013, trapped between files, floods, and bureaucratic paralysis.
What should have been a swift restoration after flood-induced damage has instead turned into a case study in administrative apathy and inefficiency. The Power Development Department (PDD) and the J&K State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDC) have repeatedly demonstrated how procedural inertia can cripple essential infrastructure. A project capable of providing much-needed renewable power to the region has been allowed to decay, while officials continue to shuffle papers and defer decisions.
It took nearly nine years for the Detailed Project Report (DPR) to materialize—by which time the damage had only worsened. Even after its eventual submission in 2022, the Board of Directors of JKSPDC deferred the matter again in 2023, displaying a pattern of indecision and complacency. As if to underline the cost of such inaction, fresh floods in August 2025 dealt another blow to the already fragile infrastructure.
This endless cycle of neglect carries far deeper implications than the fate of a single project. The Sewa-III fiasco exposes institutional incapacity within JKSPDC to handle even small-scale hydel ventures, raising serious doubts about its ability to execute larger, strategic projects. Twelve years without tangible progress signal not merely inefficiency but a systemic absence of accountability.
The inability to produce a timely and technically relevant DPR highlights glaring gaps in planning, coordination, and professional competence within both the corporation and the concerned departments. Beyond bureaucratic failures, what stands out is the lost opportunity to harness the Ravi River’s hydropower potential on the J&K side. Every passing year of neglect lets valuable water resources flow away unused.
If the Government is truly serious about reviving Sewa-III and strengthening local generation capacity, it must fix accountability at every level—from engineers to administrators to policymakers. The delay has already embarrassed the UT’s power establishment; allowing it to drift further would only confirm that systemic lethargy has triumphed over public interest.
Twelve years is far too long a wait—for the people, for the project, and for the promise of local energy independence.
