Treasury swindles CEB on PB’s orders

 Monday, 06 January 2014 

As a rule, the management of water in the large reservoirs connected to Mahaweli and Kelani Rivers are done by a committee of officials from the irrigation, water supply, Mahaweli and Ceylon Electricity Board, but this time around, all related orders were given by finance secretary P.B. Jayasundara.

The Treasury is facing a severe financial crisis which has led to the failure to manage the day-to-day economy of the country. As such, the treasury has swindled more than Rs. 35,000 million this year from the CEB, including its Rs. 21,000 million profit and earnings from bill payments by consumers. The CEB was able to earn this profit due to the adequate rainfall received in the first half of this year and the 60 per cent increase in the electricity bill since May. By July last year, hydro reservoirs had a capacity to generate 1,200 gigawatt hours of power, and the finance secretary had ordered the unrestricted utilization of that resource, which has now dwindled to 600 gigawatt hours of power. The cost of generation of a unit of electricity through hydro-power is Rs. 3.50 and Secretary Jayasundara was given an immature advice to sell same at Rs. 18 for a huge profit by another notorious official, power and energy ministry secretary M.M.C. Ferdinando.

Due to the failure of the northeast monsoon rains and the unrestricted use of water to generate electricity, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Ampara and Trincomalee districts are experiencing a severe shortage of water in irrigations. As a result, there will be a 40 per cent decrease in agricultural harvests this year, it is feared.

Drinking water supply too, is facing a crisis, and the Water Board is curtailing the supply in targeted areas. As immature brains of Jayasundara and Ferdinando cannot consider any problem in a farsighted manner, and in the light of the country’s financial crisis, the country is likely to experience a severe drought and an energy crisis within the next four months. The questionable condition of the Norochcholai power plant will worsen the situation, according to energy experts. Top level politicians in the government have discussed that if this crisis becomes any worse, it will adversely affect the government at the upcoming polls for the western and southern provincial councils, and they are considering to severely deal with these two immature brains.