Scrap service panel: Power union

Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 24

The Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) Employees Union has urged Power Minister Sukh Ram Chaudhary to scrap the Service Committee as it is in contravention to the provisions and objective of the Electricity Act, 2003, as well as the Company Act.

General secretary Hira Lal Verma alleged that the committee comprising the Additional Chief Secretary (Power), the Principal Secretary (Finance) and the managing director (HPSEBL) could not meet even once in the last 13 months, resulting in the pendency of several important issues like manpower.

Verma further said the committee was arbitrarily constituted by the government. “The AGM and the Board of Directors had absolute powers to take any decision and frame rules to carry out its day-to-day activities, but the government has arbitrarily placed the committee over these authorities,” alleged Verma.

He further alleged that the proposals placed before the committee were being decided in a distorted manner, resulting in impractical decisions and creating mess in various structures like pay, R&P rules, staffing norms of organisations, etc”.