Although employees of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) have issued a notice for launching an agitation against the attempts of the Punjab government to sell PSPCL land, Power Minister Sanjeev Arora denied any clash with the PSPCL staff over the issue.
The two sides have been on at odds since the AAP government brought up the decade-old Optimum Utilisation of Vacant Government Land (OUVGL) Scheme to monetise the land owned by the power utility in different parts of the state. The government plans to dispose of 91 acres of Powercom land in Bathinda and another 90 acres in Patiala under the OUVGL scheme.
Though the government was also planning to dispose of another chunk of prime property of the PSPCL in Ludhiana, the proposal was put on hold after employees' unions went on strike.
Arora said this was an old scheme and the government was only trying to put the vacant land to good use. “There is an urgent need to set up an exhibition centre in Ludhiana. Why should the government not utilise vacant government land for building better infrastructure?” he asked.
The altercation escalated after a Chief Engineer posted at Ropar was suspended and the Director, Generation, sacked, allegedly over the signing of two power purchase agreements. While another Chief Engineer was also placed under suspension, the order was subsequently revoked.
The employees are threatening to launch an agitation if the proposed plans to liquidate the land holdings of PSPCL are not put on hold, the work on setting up super-critical thermal units at Ropar is not started immediately and the Chief Engineer's suspension is not revoked. They have also sought concrete measures to “curb unwarranted political interference and restrict the involvement of private consultants in technical and administrative decisions of the power sector”.
They have threatened to quit all official WhatsApp groups on November 26, which could hamper the functioning of the power sector. A state-level meeting of all engineers has also been convened on December 2 to decide the next course of action.
Also read: PSPCL workers’ 3-day strike may hit power supply
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