There are about 1100 workers in the electricity department of Chandigarh. About 550 of them are regular and the rest are outsourced. The employees of the department have clearly said that they will boycott work after privatization, so the administration has started preparations.
The process of privatization of the electricity department of Chandigarh Administration is now in its final stage. The Chandigarh Administration fears that the employees may leave duty in protest.
To avoid this, the administration has demanded 113 technical employees from Haryana Electricity Department and North Haryana Electricity Distribution Corporation. These include linemen, junior engineers, sub-station attendants and drivers. These employees can reach Chandigarh on Wednesday itself.
The Engineering Secretary of the UT Administration has sent a letter to Haryana Electricity Department and North Haryana Electricity Distribution Corporation for the employees. It has been clarified in this letter that the electricity wing is being handed over to Eminent Electricity Distribution Limited and after this process the employees may boycott their duty. In such a situation, deployment of technical staff will be necessary to maintain power supply between January 29 and February 7. Sources say that during this time, preparations are on to hand over the electricity department to Eminent Company.
The employees of the department have clearly said that they will boycott work after privatization, so the administration has already taken precautionary steps and demanded additional employees. The administration has requested the deployment of 113 technical employees. The administration has appointed the Superintending Engineer (SE) as the nodal officer. He has been instructed to maintain coordination between various agencies.
Haryana ESMA implemented but still employees on protest
To suppress the protest of employees, the administration had recently implemented the Haryana Essential Service (Maintenance) Act-1974. The administration has also given strict instructions to the employees of other departments to stay away from indiscipline and has warned of action. Despite this, the employees of the department are protesting every day after the holiday. People of the city are also joining them.
The employees say that the administration had to first issue a notification of the transfer scheme, which would contain all the terms and conditions related to the service of the employees. The administration had also promised the union that first they will make a transfer scheme, then they will proceed with the work, but on November 22, they issued an LOI to the company, which was extended till January 31 and in the meantime Chandigarh Power Distribution Limited was also formed.
Eminent has placed a bid of 871 crores, there are about 1100 workers in the department
There are about 1100 workers in the electricity department. About 550 of these are regular and the rest are outsourced. Eminent Electricity Distribution Limited had placed a bid of 871 crores to buy the department, which was given final approval by the Union Cabinet in May 2022 for 871 crores. The administration started the process of privatization five years ago. There were a total of seven companies in the race to buy the department. Apart from Eminent, these included Adani Transmission Limited, Tata Power, Torrent Power, Sterlite Power, Renew Wind Energy and NTPC Electric Supply Company Limited.
List of required staff
Position Number
Assistant Lineman 55
Lineman 23
Sub Station Attendant 16
Junior Engineer 9
Driver 10
