There exists a legal doctrine of promissory estoppels which implies that a promise made even unwritten but only verbal should be fulfilled and failure of which can be brought to Courts invoking that doctrine. More than thousand years Pondicherry region had enjoyed local bodies, which were kept as extinct species in a museum for few decades, and then Prime Minister Narasaimha Rao issued a deadline for Pondicherry to conduct local bodies before a Gandhi Jayanthi. Even this warning did yield results, so me and two other political activists fasted for 6 days and ended our indefinite fast after Government announced poll dates for local bodies. Nothing changed in ground level, only corruption and inefficiency was decentralized but public good remained unattainable goal. It was during that time I thought of invoking the doctrine of promissory estoppels and sue the Government for non-fulfillment of a public promise.
Pondicherry Power Corporation started power generation with a capacity of 32.5 MW based on natural gas made available by Gas Authority of India Limited from the Cauvery basin. The Executive Engineer of Pondicherry Electricity Department proclaimed through The Hindu dated 24 th November 2005 that a 250 MW gas based power plant will be set up in Yanam from the gas extracted by Reliance Industries Limited in Krishna Godavari basin, out of the share of gas that company was to give to Pondicherry Government.
On 1 st September 2006 in the floor of the assembly then Electricity Minister V.Vaithialingam in a reply to a question told that a 100 MW power plant will be set up in Yanam.
National Thermal Power Corporation at the behest of Pondicherry Government conducted the feasibility study and suggested that a 400 MW power project should be set up in the cost of Rs 1340 crore in Yanam, which was duly reported in The Hindu dated October 30 of 2008. The Government of Pondicherry entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Reliance Industries Limited in which RIL agreed to supply 1.86 million cubic meters of natural gas from Krishna Godavari basin every day.
Rural Electrification Corporation under Union Power Ministry and Power Finance Corporation were ready to fully fund towards the setting up of that power plant. Government of Pondicherry identified 29 hectares in Giriampeta village of Yanam region and acquired land to set up that power project.
The people of Yanam were given promise of free power to their houses and hutments and people of Pondicherry were told excess power beyond Yanam’s requirements would be transported through National Power Grid and Puducherry will get power ending power cuts once for all.
After reading the sequence of events when land is ready, funds are ready, gas is ready, and all clearances are ready, why a promise made to the people remains unfulfilled even after 4 years. Actually a projected mooted 11 years ago still has not seen light at the end of the tunnel.
Present Power Minister may not know these background but people’s sufferings with frequent power cuts must end. Only one thing was lacking all the way. The political will to fulfill a promise made to people of Yanam and Pondicherry.
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