Faridabad power department grapples with staff shortage, working hit

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad, January 11

A total of 75.16 per cent of the sanctioned regular posts have been lying vacant in the Faridabad circle of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN). This has adversely affected the smooth functioning of the department, and has left consumers at the receiving end, it is claimed. The circle has over 6.21 lakh connections, including 5.16 lakh domestic and 64,240 non-domestic connections.

The department has been faced with problems in not only attending to the consumer complaints, but also in the regular disposal of the routine jobs, which include carrying out the maintenance and expansion of the power supply infrastructure in the urban and rural parts of the district, according to the sources at the DHBVN here.

“Against a total sanctioned strength of 1,985 staff positions, the circle has a working strength of only 493, according to a document prepared by the department last month. The most short-staffed positions are that of junior engineer, assistant foreman, linemen and assistant linemen (ALM). The department has only 9 meter readers, 5 drivers and 9 peons, working on outsourcing basis.

Claiming that staff crunch has been one of the major reasons behind the non-availability of round-the-clock power, Subhash Lamba, general secretary, All Haryana Power Corporations Workers Union, also blamed privatisation, outsourcing and gross mismanagement for the same. “As per the state government policy, the department will get more staff to deal with the issue,” said Naresh Kakkar, Superintending Engineer, DHBVN.