since he retired in 2005 summer after putting in over eight years as chairman of the J&K Bank, Mohammad Yusuf Khan maintained a low profile in the state. He remained busy with a number of mainland firms outside. He reappeared with a bang within a few days after his successor Dr Haseeb A Drabu was unceremoniously sacked. In fact, it was in the rare news conference then that he hinted of returning in a new avatar.
Four months later, Khan was appointed as the chairman of the Jhelum Valley Power Projects Corporation Ltd – a JV between Power Development Corporation, National Hydel Power Corporation and Power Trading Corporation, that will implement three Chenab basin projects totaling 2120 MW. Khan will get the same package that NHPC chairman is getting plus all the perks.
The JV that friends Jairam Ramesh and Haseeb Drabu conceived during Ghulam Nabi Azad era took a lot of turns and twists to reach a stage when the two sides finally inked the deal on December 21. Interestingly, PDP was against the deal and Azad himself was unsure of its fate. In 2008 when Prime Minister flew to Baglihar he skipped signing the deal that was indicative of pressure from some quarters against it. Even the bureaucracy in Delhi’s power ministry was against the idea. But there were two supporters throughout – Omar Abdullah and Prof Saif ud Din Soz.
An unparalleled administrator, Khan was a routine government employee. He started coming to the limelight as MD J&K State Industrial Development Corporation (1984-1988) and later as head of JKTDC. In between he was abroad for a long time. His profile started growing soon after he took over as chief executive of the J&K Bank in 1996 where he proved his competence. He is solely responsible for giving the bank a corporate identity.
Khan remained busy with a number of assignments after Drabu succeeded him. He advised Yes Bank, Berenson & Company and was on board of a number of companies include Zee Network and Bharat Hotels. With his new full time assignment he may have to give up many other part-time jobs.
“The first stage was MoU and the second was the promoters’ agreement,” a senior power ministry official said when asked about the progress. “Now the parties are busy framing the articles of association that will pave way for registering the company”. It will be only then that the formal process will follow.
“We are busy incorporating the corporation and once it is done we will move for all mandatory clearances in one go,” Khan told Kashmir Life. “The state government has decided that recruitment and financial closure will go simultaneously and to be honest we have already managed the financial closure informally because all the parties are on board.” Khan said the first brick should get laid by January 2012 and all the three projects must get completed within six years.
