Chandigarh Administration told to finalise transfer scheme of electricity employees
A Chandigarh Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has directed the Chandigarh Administration to finalise the transfer scheme of the Electricity Department employees to a private company as per the provisions of Sections 133 and 134 of the Electricity Act and proceed accordingly.
The Bench has passed the order while disposing of a petition filed by the employees of the Electricity Department, challenging their transfer to the private company. In the application filed through senior advocate GS Bal along with counsel Dilshad Singh Gill, the employees prayed before the Bench to quash a unilateral order of transferring their services from the Administration to a private company without their written consent.
The employees also requested to issue directions to the respondents to adjust the employees depending upon their qualifications and experience on posts available in any other department of the Administration instead of forcing them to join under a private company.
The respondents denied the allegations in the application and claimed that the interest of the employees was protected under Section 133 of the Electricity Act.
After hearing the arguments the tribunal said as far as the privatisation of the department was concerned, that matter had already been settled by the high court. The only question to be decided by the tribunal was that whether the respondents had complied with the provisions of the Act before transferring it to the private company. The contention of the respondents is that the draft scheme has not been finalised and the same will be done after discussion with the private company.
The tribunal said it was of the view that Sections 133 and 134 of the Electricity Act provides for the draft scheme 2020, which also takes care of the service conditions and further says that the terms of transfer shall not in any way be less favourable to those which would have been applicable if there was no such transfer.
Section 133 also provides that there can be provisional transfer for the stipulated period. The tribunal said that in view of such a position it was of the view that the transfer scheme of the electricity employees be finalised as per the provisions of Sections 133 and 134 of the Electricity Act and proceeded accordingly.
