Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU/SRINAGAR, Feb 3: Power engineers and employees today observed nationwide protest against privatization policies of the Government of India in Jammu as well as Srinagar.
In Jammu, thousands of power sector employees and engineers under the banner of J&K Power Engineers and Employees Coordination Committee held protest demonstrations seeking withdrawal of Electricity Amendment Bill 2021 which has been listed for introduction in the Budget Session of Parliament.
“We do not now know what amendments have been introduced in the original draft Bill 2020,” said V K Gupta spokesperson of All India Power Employees Federation.
Gupta said that the Government is simply privatizing the power sector at the cost of the State sector in the name of reforms. The last three decades of market-oriented power sector reforms have exposed the inefficiency of the Central Government’s reform program.
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The draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill in its current form is unacceptable. The proposed reforms should be discussed with engineers and employees to see whether they will address challenges or aggravate them, said V K Gupta.
Munshi Majid Ali from JKEEGA Kashmir said the employees and engineers are against privatization of power distribution in union territories and States. They also demanded timely promotion of engineers against vacant posts and reguarization of staff.
Other senior members of Power Employees Coordination Committee who addressed protest meetings at Jammu included Sachin Tickoo, Jasbir Singh, Ashok Kumar Dubey, Jaipal Sharma, Sanjeev Bali, Anil Salathia, Balbir Singh and Tarun Gupta.
In Kashmir, symbolic protest was held by the PDD employees under the banner of J&K Power Engineers and Employees Coordination Committee on the call given by National Coordination Committee.
Addressing the media persons on the occasion, Abdul Rashid Samboori, president, JKEEU and Kaiser Illahi Mir, president-K, DEA (Electrical) said demanded timely promotion against clear vacancies at all levels by holding Departmental Promotion Committees regularly in all Cadres.
They also demanded regularization of engineering cadre, impressing that SAC had directed that Administrative department to proceed for regularization of engineers in clear cut terms and the process be completed by November 30, 2019. “Despite the lapse of over 13 months, none of the Engineers as on date has been regularized according to such directions,” they said.
The JKPEECC said that it vehemently criticizes the approach of the Government ventilated through the proposed “draconian and anti-people” electricity legislation as well as privatization proposal with the clear objective of snatching away the right of access to electricity.
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