Decentralisation key word for development: Hande

Speaking at an interaction programme with journalists organised by the District Working Journalists’ Association, he said that he wants to break the barriers in Delhi mafia which comprises of environmentalists and policy makers who have not gone into the ground reality.

The award has added more responsibility towards his social commitment. The award will be used to do our work in the direction of promoting sustainable and renewable energy.

He said: “We have choices with as many as five types of renewable energies and sarcastically the decentralised approach of energy process is not done in India”. About 52 per cent of Indian population, even after 64 years of independence do not have electricity, he regretted.

Hande said the implications of coal based thermal power plant should be evaluated based on cost expenses for the next 20 years compared to the expenses that incurred in the next 20 years by using renewable energy. In the next 20 years, the cost expenditure comprising of land, water, pollution costs and discounts and incentives ought to be totally assessed.

The coal capacity of the plant should be somewhere around 10 to 12 days, however these days the plants have the coal capacity of single day. The coal transported from Bihar has 40 per cent ashes and we are transporting ashes all the way around. The rate of coal exported from Indonesia is hiked from 80 to 160 dollar per tonne. There are similar fluctuations like Middle East oil that proves to be costly, he added.

Kyoto protocol
Expressing his displeasure over the lack of attention given to the Durban meet on Kyoto protocol to be held on November 29, Hande said there is no mention of Durban meet anywhere in India.

“We should take the lead in climate changes”. Hande said the integrated energy policy of India in the year 1991 decided to reach out for 20,000 mega watt of solar energy by 2020. However, the irony is that we are able to generate 83 mega watts of solar energy as a result of policy decisions made by ignorant policy makers. “We have not involved practitioners. The five year plan needs to stretch for 20 years term plan to take up long expanded programmes”, he added.

He said that the nuclear plant cannot be kept safe. The United Nation has declared 2012 as sustainable energy year and India is the major target. The UN has also brought out a separate chapter on rural banking model adopted in Karnataka.

He reiterated that vernacular press has larger role to play. He said vernacular press is capable of breaking the barriers observed in Delhi against grass root policies. Media should stop glorifying unnecessary issues and focus on positive developments. At least 30 per cent of the space should be reserved for positive news.

He said he was inspired by the large scale solar energy programme he came to know during his visit to Dominican Republic way back in 1991. Sharing the details of his friendship with Arvind Kajreawala, Hande said: “We were friends since our college days while studying at IIT.

He always felt India’s big problem is corruption and I always felt it is poverty that bothers the country. Arvind supported the idea that eliminating corruption can eradicate poverty and I was thinking the other way around. Corruption can be reduced only if poverty is reduced,” he opined.