Hack:

• BJP MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal has welcomed the Rs 50,000-crore mega solar power project
• He has demanded reserved jobs for locals and a land lease model for them

Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP who represents Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency, has welcomed the Rs 50,000-crore mega solar power project in the union territory. However, he has made it clear that the project can go ahead if jobs are reserved for the locals. He also put forth that the project can work if the workers can work on a land lease model. The mega solar power project is being set up in the region after the government’s move to abrogate Article 370, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcating the state into two Union Territories- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Namgyal added that protecting the fragile ecology of the Ladakh region is of high importance.

On Investments

Speaking about investments, the BJP MP urged the investors to devote a part of their earnings as a royalty for the locals. He put forth a few conditions as well. “Investments are essential to come from outside, I welcome those. But there are a few conditions – we can’t give the land in your name, you will have to take it on lease and a portion of the jobs will have to be reserved for the local youth. And whatever you earn from here, a part of it will have to be given to the council fund as royalty for ground development,” he said.

On Ladakh

According to Namgyal, Ladakh has always possessed huge potential to develop solar energy. He further gave credits to the Narendra Modi government for tapping the potential. He said that Ladakh should not be looked at as an infertile piece of land. The region is an important tourist destination, rich in rare medicinal plants and also a repository of glaciers, he added. “The need is to tread on a “middle path” between the development and the local interests, such that both the Ladakhis as well as the rest of India benefits,” the BJP MP said.

A news publication had previously reported about the Rs 50,000-crore solar power project. They had mentioned that the mega project is touted as the single biggest investment in the space. The project is being targeted for a tight 48-month commissioning deadline from the effective date of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), the report stated.

Source: republicworld