Power staff threaten to halt work
Bijendra Ahlawat
Tribune News Service

Rohtak, February 11
The Haryana Power Engineers and Workers Joint Action Committee has come down heavily on the move of the state government to outsource jobs in the department.

The committee has threatened to step up agitation by halting all work in the department if the government goes ahead with its plan.

“The JAC met here today and held a demonstration in protest against privatisation of the department. It announced to stop work in offices of power corporations if job tenders were allotted to private companies/bodies as part of the outsourcing programme launched by the government,” claimed Subhash Lamba, a member of the
committee.

He said the government would be responsible for the consequences if it failed to respond to the warning of the staff. The financial losses, which were Rs 400 crore in 1998, had mounted to a whopping Rs 4,039 crore this year due to the “wrong policies of the authorities,” he alleged.

Line losses and overall loss of revenue had been on the rise for the past several years. Lamba said the JAC had submitted a memorandum to the government and its officials against fanchisees for routine jobs, but there had been no positive sign from the government so far.

Handing over commercial hubs like Gurgaon and Panipat to franchisees would result in further deterioration of services and a major loss to the state exchequer.

This could propel the companies to hike power rates from Rs 4 to Rs 8 per unit. This was certainly against the interests of the consumer, he added.

“The JAC is confident of getting things on track if the government fills all 30,000 posts and accepts the just demands of the employees. This will help the department come out of the red and the consumer will be the ultimate winner, he claimed,” said Lamba. The JAC has appealed to the CM to intervene on the issue and ensure steps to resolve the problem.