Has PSEB lost its legal status?
Sarbjit Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 14
What is the legal status of the PSEB sans extension to it by the Union government? Under Section 172-A of the Electricity Act-2003, the state and Union governments were to decide the extension. The state government had applied for extension, but the Union government has not granted it so far, making the PSEB status in legal terms untenable.

Earlier extension granted to the PSEB ended on November 30. The PSEB was constituted under the Electricity Act, 1948. This Act was repealed in 2003 and the new Electricity Act, 2003, was enacted. Under the new Act, the PSEB was to be unbundled by the state government into several companies. Though Punjab was given extension several times to unbundle the PSEB, it did not do it.

Last time, the Union government had given extension telling the state government to submit road map of the programme to unbundle the PSEB. However, the state government wants to keep it pending till the Lok Sabha elections. It had applied for another extension which has not been granted.

Extension has not been allowed under the new Act and the earlier Act, 1948, under which the PSEB was formed stands repealed. In such a situation can the government appoint chairman or member of the PSEB? The Punjab government on Tuesday appointed HS Brar PSEB chairman removing YS Ratra.

Senior PSEB officers say the state government cannot make any appointment in such a situation. They refer the case of Himachal. The court had quashed the extension granted to the chairman of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricty Board by the government there. Under the new Act, companies are to be set up and directors appointed by framing appointments rules. Rules are also to be framed for the appointment of chief executive officers by directors.

A senior Punjab government officer said the PSEB existed as an institution and now a case for extension was pending before the Union government which had sought answer to some queries from the state government. “As the case is before the Union government, we consider legal status of the PSEB as intact,” said the officer. Sources said the Union government had rejected another extension telling the state government to set up a transmission company to meet legal provisions of theAct 2003 on the unbundling of the PSEB.

Many PSEB officers say technically and legally the PSEB has not been granted extension by the Union government, hence, its legal status is untenable since November 30 last.