Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 22: All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) has urged the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir not to corporatize Power Development Department of State.
AIPEF in a letter to the Governor of J&K has requested him to issue directions to PDD authorities to restructure the Department so that all power utilities (Distribution, Transmission & Generation) remain integrated as one company like Himachal Pradesh in the larger interest of State for better coordination and better consumer service.
Shailendra Dubey, Chairman AIPEF, in his letter mentions that in several States a separate coordination body has been created which is the controlling body of multiple Discoms. It would be more effective, coordinated and economical to have one organization integrating the functions of distribution, generation and transmission as in case of KSEB Ltd and HPSEB Ltd, he added.
V K Gupta, a spokesperson of AIPEF, said that manpower and HR functions are performed more efficiently and with uniformity with one organization as opposed to multiple companies. “In regulatory matters of State level, and dealing with SERC, it is practically effective with one Discom and generation and transmission combined. Creation of multiple units only complicates regulatory issues,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh All Departments Clerical Staff Association has also appealed the Governor to desist from the policy of unbundling of PDD.
In a meeting of the Association, president Babu Hussain Malik proposed that the Government should work for modernization and transparency in the PDD as the Department has already achieved 100 percent target as set out in the Saubhagaya Scheme launched by the Union Government. He fully supported the call given by Power Employees Coordination Committee for 72 hours strike with effect from September 24.
Babu Hussain said that there is no roadmap for employees and no transparency was involved in unbundling and claimed that there is no transition plan for the more than 30000 employees working in PDD. “Moreover there is no policy for the future of Daily wagers, where will these Daily Wagers go, who had given their 10 to 20 years in the service of the department. This will led to an era of capitalism as the companies as dictators. Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh All Departments Clerical Staff Association will not allow any type of dictatorship with the employees fraternity and will fight till end for the rights of employees and a state wide agitation will be launched throughout the state,” he said.
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