Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 18: Power Engineers across the country shall resort to token work boycott and hold protest meetings on February 3, against privatization policies of Government of India, said V K Gupta spokesperson of All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF).
Shailendra Dubey, Chairman AIPEF in a letter to Prime Minister stated that Power Engineers and employees are grieved over the Central Government’s move towards the power sector privatization through Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 & Standard Bidding Document for total privatization of distribution of electricity. They are opposing conversion of public monopoly to private monopoly.
V K Gupta said that the policy of privatization was slowly destroying the Public Sector across the country while giving huge benefits to selected corporates. Privatization and targeted benefits to chosen corporates was the root cause of farmers’ agitation.AIPEF expresses solidarity to struggling organisations of peasants whose one of the main demands is withdrawal of Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020.
AIPEF demanded withdrawal process of privatization of electricity from Public Sector to private companies in States and Union Territories. The other demands are scraping of Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 & standard bidding document for total privatization of distribution of electricity and reintegrate all power utilities in States with function components of generation, transmission, and distribution like KSEB Ltd & HPSEB Ltd.
“Electricity (Amendment) Bill in its present form is not acceptable. Before going for more amendments in the electricity sector Government should constitute an expert committee to review the result of so-called reforms done in last 25 years in the power sector which has landed Discoms in a very alarming financial crisis,” the Federation said.