Power employees protest privatisation

Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 24

Employees of the power development department are up in arms against the state administration for its decision to implement a plan to unbundle the department and start the process for its privatisation. The plan was pending for the past six years.

Protests were organised across the state against the decision, with employees alleging that the state had initiated the unbundling process without coming up with a concrete roadmap for the employees.

Under the banner of the All J&K Power Employees and Engineers Coordination Committee, demonstrations were held at all divisional and subdivisional offices to protest the move of the state.

“The decision has been taken without informing the employees. The move will affect the work of the department. There is no roadmap as to how the employees will work under the new scheme,” said Harvinder Singh, president, J&K Electrical Engineers Graduates’ Association.

The protesters claimed that the step towards carving out of a firm, named Jammu and Kashmir State Power Trading Company Limited (TRADECO), from the dept had been taken by the state at a time when reforms initiated in the form of flagship schemes were being implemented.

“It is an experiment. This unbundling exercise has proved to be a failure in most of the states barring a few exceptions where tariff has been set at the cost-recovery level and subsidy is also generously paid by the state,” said Sachin Tickoo, convener, Forum of Engineers.

The committee said the employees were concerned about their future as 150 posts of commercial and survey wing of Jammu and Kashmir had been transferred to TRADECO by one stroke.

Under the power reform process initiated in 2011-12, then state engaged international consultancy firm Price Water House Cooper for restructuring the department, including its unbundling and corporatisation.