New Delhi, March 27 -- India's ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) recently suggested to a parliamentary panel that it needs a greater role in policy formulation for the electricity sector.

No doubt, its remit warrants deeper consultation with the sector's anchor, the ministry of power (MoP). Solar projects have come up but are unable to despatch electricity on account of inadequate evacuation facilities, a subject that is squarely within the MoP's ambit. It oversees transmission plans.

However, inter-ministry engagements must be under the Executive's aegis. The MNRE's plea to let it directly engage the sector's regulator-a quasi-judicial authority-for issuing directives cannot be entertained. Grid responsibility lies firmly wit...