Powermen hold massive rally at New Delhi against Electricity (Amendment)Bill-2022

Powermen hold massive rally at New Delhi against Electricity (Amendment)Bill-2022

Bahadurjeet Singh/New Delhi

Power employees and engineers from different states,  held a massive rally at Jantar Mantar New Delhi today  to oppose the proposed electricity bill and privatisation of the energy sector  by the Centre.

The rally was held under the banner of the National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees & Engineers (NCCOEEE) and  addressed by Chairman AIPEF Shailendra Dubey, Convener NCCOEEE, Prashant N Chowdhary Samar Sinha , R Krishnan MP, Secretary General AIPEF  Rathnakar Rao, Padamjit Singh, Hannan Molla of SKM. Mohd. Kareem MP. and other trade union leaders also spoke.

The power sector employees and engineers from all over the country including  Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra,Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana,   Gujarat, Assam,  Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar , Kerala participated in  the massive rally.

Powermen hold massive rally at New Delhi against Electricity (Amendment)Bill-2022. Powermen are demanding withdrawal of  the Electricity (Amendment) Bill -2022,
privatisation of the power sector,and  are demanding reintegration of all power utilities in a state, restoration of  old pension scheme and regularisation of all outsourced employees, informed V K Gupta AIPEF Spokesperson.

Shailendra Dubey  said that although Lok Sabha has referred Electricity (Amendment)  Bill 2022 to the Standing Committee on Energy,to date the standing  committee has not held any discussions with power employees or electricity  consumers who are the biggest stakeholders.He stated that the amendments being planned to the Electricity Act by the Centre would lead to the privatisation of the power  sector and burden the poor, middle class and farmers with huge tariff increases..

Prashant N Chowdhary said any unilateral action to get the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022 passed in Parliament without taking the electricity employees and engineers across the country into confidence would be strongly opposed and all 27 lakh electricity employees and engineers of the country will  be forced to resort to a nationwide strike in protest against the move.

P. Rathnakar Rao said a failed model was being introduced in the power  sector in the name of reforms and in the name of financial viability of discoms the Centre was planning to bring private companies into the energy sector.

Ashok Rao  said that the power sector reforms need to be guided by planning  rather than market forces. The amendments planned to the Electricity Act  2003 would lead to the privatization of the power distribution sector across the country. This would burden the poor, middle-class, and farmers with huge tariff increases in due course of it.

November 23,2022