Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 7: Power sector engineers will observe countrywide protest day on August 18, seeking withdrawal of Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and to oppose privatization of electricity distribution in Union Territories, UP Purbanchal (Varanasi) and Odisha (CESU), said V K Gupta spokesperson All India Power Engineers Federation(AIPEF).
This decision is in line with the online meeting of National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE) presided over by Mohan Sharma president All India Federation of Electricity Employees.
The meeting was addressed by Prasanta N Chowdhury convenor, KO Habeeb president Electricity Employees Federation of India and Padamjit Singh, Shalinder Dubey, Ashok Rao, Rathnakar Rao from All India Power Engineers Federation, Amar Singh Sankhla, general secretary ABVMMS (BMS) and others.
V K Gupta said that Ministry of Power failed to convince 11 States and 2 Union Territories in the Power Ministers’ conference held on July 3. Power Ministry committed to placing a modified draft of the Bill but even after one month Government of India is going ahead with its plan of privatization of power distribution wing of Union Territories.
AIPEF has already written to the Ministry of Power to publish the modified version of the Bill, keeping the same for comments in the public domain for a reasonable period of time.
NCCOEEE will write to all the Chief Ministers of 11 States and 2 UTs who opposed the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 seeking their continued support in the struggle to keep access to electricity for all at an affordable cost.
The meeting noted with serious dismay that KK Malik in his capacity as general secretary of Haryana Power Engineers Association wrote to appropriate authority to oppose irregularity. Haryana Govt has suspended him from his substantive post without assigning any charge.
All the constituents of employee unions and state engineers associations will write to Chief Minister, Haryana protesting the unlawful suspension urging his intervention towards the immediate withdrawal of suspension.
It may be mentioned that all the engineers and employees observed June 1 as National Protest Day across the country.
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