Dhaka opposes Delhi’s stance on cross-border power trade

FE Team | Published: September 26, 2018 00:10:58

Bangladesh raised its serious objection about New Delhi's recent arbitrary decision for not allowing any cross border electricity trade through India unless there is any Indian company involved, reports UNB.
The objection was made at the meeting of the Bangladesh-India Joint Steering Committee on Power Sector Cooperation held in north-eastern city of Sylhet on Tuesday, said officials who attended the two nations' bilateral talks.
Such a decision put Bangladesh's move to import electricity from Nepal and Bhutan through Indian border into a dilemma.
Officials said the Indian side took the Bangladesh concerns into cognizance and said the Indian central government softened the decision by bringing some changes.
They said that the copy of the latest version of Indian government's decision would be sent to Dhaka soon.
The meeting also decided that a joint technical team of Dhaka and New Delhi would now review the feasibility report of the Indian proposed "765 kV East-West Power Interconnector" project instead of its immediate implementation.
Officials said India planned the East-West Interconnector Project to take electricity through Bangladesh to its Bihar province in the west from eastern Province of Arunachal by setting up hydro power projects.
As part of the plan, New Delhi offered Dhaka to install the portion of the long high voltage grid transmission line to cross through Bangladesh corridor at its own cost while India will control the whole grid system.
But while discussing the agenda, Bangladesh officials disagreed with the Indian plan and offered to implement such a project as a regional power grid by participation of all involving nations like Nepal and Bhutan as well, officials said.
They also said that Dhaka offered to keep control of the grid system under a joint mechanism instead of any single country's authority.
Bangladesh Power Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus and Indian Power Secretary Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla led their respective sides in the 15th meeting of the committee.
Power Cell director general Mohammad Hossain, who participated in the meeting, however, said discussion was held in a very cordial manner and the outcomes are very positives.
Meanwhile, a statement issued by Bangladesh's Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, said fruitful discussion was held in the steering committee meeting on various issues including giving all kinds of tax exemption on import of electricity from India, giving waiver to any financial involvement in power import due to change in Indian law or in political situation and export of electricity from Bangladesh to India.
The meeting also discussed participation of Indian corporate companies in Bangladesh's power sector, setting up Dhaka-New Delhi joint venture project in India, import of electricity from Nepal and Bhutan and cooperation in the renewable energy sector.