Double standards in Powercom: CE suspended for financial losses, promoted as EIC, no decision on director’s removal on similar grounds
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ April 27,2026
Today, the dual face of Punjab state power corporation limited (PSPCL) comes to fore after the management issues promotion orders of Er. Harish Kumar Sharma, Chief Engineer/ARR&TR, PSPCL, Patiala, as Engineer-inChief /ARR&TR, PSPCL, Patiala, with immediate effect and no decision of revocation of removal of Harjit Singh, director generation, PSPCL is taken even after five months.
In November 2025 Powercom has taken action against both Harjit Singh, director generation and Harish Kumar Sharma, chief engineer thermal plant on same grounds, over alleged irregularities in fuel costs for power generation and cited a sharp difference in power generation costs between government-run and private thermal plants despite coal being sourced from PSPCL’s own Pachhwara coal mine.
But, after almost four months the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) management has revoked the suspension of Harish Sharma, Chief Engineer of the Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant, Ropar in mid March this year but took no decision on Harjit Singh, director generation’s fate. It is alleged that he was removed from the post of Director (Generation) on what are described as frivolous grounds in November last year.
It is alleged that Harjit Singh was made a scapegoat and removed prematurely despite no fault of his own. Even though senior officials had signed for his suspension, he was ultimately removed from the post. He is the man who is credited with effectively managing power generation last year, running state power plants at full capacity, procuring power at cheaper rates, and ensuring that no power cuts were imposed in the state despite record-high electricity consumption—largely due to his meticulous planning.
However, during the entire period of Harish Kumar’s suspension, no charges were framed, no charge-sheet was issued, and no explanation was ever sought from him. Ultimately, the suspension was revoked unconditionally, demonstrating that the allegations lacked substance.
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