Punjab Powercom engineers support UP engineers protest over privatisation of two discoms

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Punjab Powercom engineers support UP engineers protest over privatisation of two discoms

Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ December 2,2024

PSEB Engineers’ Association  earnestly urges the Government of Uttar Pradesh to urgently review and reverse its decision to privatise the power sector in the best interest of the state’s power sector and its citizens.

The Association  has  expressed  the unequivocal support of all power engineers of Punjab for the ongoing agitation led by the power engineers and employees of Uttar Pradesh under the banner of  Vidyut Karmchari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti.

The Association in a letter to chief minister UP  said that  the state government has taken a unilateral decision to privatise the power sector without engaging in meaningful discussions with the engineers and employees’ unions. This decision also overlooks the alarming issue of non-recovery of defaulting dues amounting to Rs. 1.15 lakh crores, which remains a significant burden on the UP power sector.

Ajay Pal singh Atwal  General Secretary said that  this decision overlooks the past failures of private iplayers, particularly the example of Agra, which should have been a cautionary lesson. As such ,In light of these considerations, the PSEB Engineers’ Association finds the decision of UP Engineers and Employees to protest fully justified. We extend our wholehearted support for the proposed protest action, scheduled to commence on December 6, 2024.

It may be mentioned that in Uttar Pradesh, privatization of two big electricity distribution corporations, Varanasi and Agra  has been announced. Due to the privatization of these two Discoms  more than 70,000 regular and outsourced employees are facing the threat of retrenchment.  In the first phase, privatization of two Discoms  has been announced but the decision is to privatize the entire distribution sector.

Vidyut Karmchari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti blamed managerial inefficiencies and proposed that management roles be assigned to technical experts instead of IAS officers. “If the same workforce  can drive improvements post-privatisation, why not make the changes within the existing structure.