Delhi, August 8: The All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) said that on August 18, electricity engineers would observe protest day in opposition to the Electricity Amendment Bill, 2020 and proposed privatization of discoms. “Power sector engineers will observe countrywide protest day on August 18 seeking to withdraw electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and oppose privatization of the distribution of electricity in union territories, UP Purvanchal (Varanasi) and Odisha (CESU),” AIPEF spokesperson V K Gupta said.
This decision is in line with the online meeting of the National Coordinating Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE), chaired by Mohan Sharma, president of the All India Federation of Electricity Employees, and held on 4 August 2020, the statement said.
The power ministry had circulated the proposed Electricity Amendment Act, 2020 for feedback earlier this year. In addition, the government announced its decision to privatize discoms in union territories and some states.
Gupta said in the conference of power ministers held on July 3, the power ministry failed to persuade eleven states and two union territories.
The power ministry was to bring in a modified draft of the Bill but even after a month, it added, India’s government is moving ahead with its proposal to privatize the power distribution arm of union territories.
The AIPEF has already written to the ministry to publish the amended version of the Bill, retaining the same for public domain comments for a reasonable period of time.
The NCCOEEE will write to the 11-state chief ministers and two union territories who opposed the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020, seeking their continued support in the battle to keep access to electricity for all at an affordable rate.
The meeting noted with serious dismay that K K Malik in his capacity as General Secretary of Haryana Power Engineers Association wrote to the appropriate authority to oppose irregularity, the statement said.
He was suspended from his substantive post by the Haryana government without any charge, he added.
All constituents of employee unions and associations of state engineers will write to the Haryana chief minister, protesting the unlawful suspension urging his intervention to withdraw the suspension immediately, the statement said.
It may be noted that all the engineers and employees observed June 1 as National Day of Protest throughout the country and the national media highlighted the adverse consequences of the proposed legislation, it said.
