Power corridor good, but we must not depend on Indian power supply

THE news item that Bangladesh will allow India to use its soil to transmit 6,000 MW of electricity from Assam to Bihar via Dinajpur through a new electricity corridor has unleashed widespread discussions at various levels as to what benefits Dhaka will get and at the cost of what. Power Secretary Monowar Islam made the disclosure in the city on Thursday after a meeting with the Indian Power Secretary, however without saying how Bangladesh will benefit, except giving the hint that we will get some electricity from the supply line. He is not clear either at this moment whether or not Bangladesh will get any wheeling charge, although in a similar situation Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) receives 22 to 23 paisa for per kilowatt wheeling of 500 MW electricity that Bangladesh gets from India now through Bheramara point in the Kushtia district. But Bangladesh Power Development Board is paying the charge.
Making the disclosure about the new power corridor the Power Secretary made it public this time that a committee has been set up to explore the feasibility of transmitting power. India has proposed to take electricity from Rangia Raota transmission point in Assam to Borakpur in Bihar through Barapukuria of Dinajpur district in Bangladesh. The committee has been asked to submit its report in six months while the initial target time for power transmission has been set for 2017. Indian Power Secretary PK Sinha led a five-member delegation at the meeting. Delhi holds the view that its northeast state of Arunachal Pradesh alone has the potential to produce 50,000 MW electricity from water resources. A number of projects are under construction and India initially plans to carry 6,000 MW to its western zone. Bangladesh may get 1000 MW from it by getting involved in the project.
As we see, both sides have agreed on principle this time to proceed with the project while much of its technical and financial aspects and political ramifications have to be resolved at subsequent stages. It is common knowledge that the South Asian countries have the lowest per capita use of electricity which keeps the region basically poor. The situation may be significantly improved by encouraging cross border electricity exchange and such other socio-economic collaborations. But it immediately refers to the need for closer political understanding among the regional leaderships which is however missing with severe confidence deficits in many fronts. For instance, India is not giving the legitimate share of Teesta water to Bangladesh turning the very region it wants to use for the power corridor into desert. It is not solving the boundary issues and the swap of enclaves while building more dams on common rivers to hold back water. It does not set a proper environment for setting up a power corridor which keeps people unhappy with the Indian behaviour.
There is a common perception in Bangladesh that the Indian government is using special relations with the Awami League government to take away all tactical advantages without reciprocity. It is moreover interfering in the country’s politics to deny a democratic election and keep the nation at chaos. In this situation, we fear even good initiatives may not be appraised with a good perspective. We hold the view that Bangladesh wants strong regional collaboration but it must be in a free, fair political environment. But many political observers here look skeptically at the Indian move which indicates that Delhi wants to make Bangladesh slowly dependent on high cost Indian electricity while discouraging the government from setting up its own cost effective big power plants.
The Awami League government thus remained content over the past five years with the short term rental and quick rental power plants while signing agreements to buy more electricity from India. We hold the view that Bangladesh must set up big power plants and exchange of electricity must be similarly a two-way traffic. We must protect national interest in the first place.