Govt, PSPCL employees head for face-off over sale of land

The confrontation between the two sides escalated after a Chief Engineer posted at Ropar was placed under suspension and the Director, Generation, was sacked, allegedly over the signing of two power purchase agreements. While another Chief Engineer was also placed under suspension, the order was later revoked.

The employees are threatening to launch an agitation in case the proposed plans to liquidate the land-holdings of the PSPCL are not put on hold, the work on setting up the super-critical thermal units at Ropar is not started immediately and the Chief Engineer's suspension is not revoked immediately. They have also demanded concrete measures be brought in place to “curb unwarranted political interference and restrict the involvement of private consultants in technical and administrative decisions of the power sector”.

While Arora denied that there was any clash with Powercom employees, the PSEB Engineers' Association seems unwilling to relent. They have threatened to quit all official WhatsApp groups on November 26, which could seriously jeopardise the functioning of the power sector. A state-level meeting of all engineers has also been convened on December 2, where they have threatened to intensify the agitation.

Jasvir Singh Dhiman, president of the association, said they had repeatedly conveyed their concerns to the Power Minister and the Secretary (Power), but to no avail. “Power engineers across Punjab are deeply aggrieved; protest meetings have been held throughout the state, yet despite clear and unequivocal feedback from the engineering fraternity, the Power Department continues to browbeat upright officers, creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.”