Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB) employees, who have been apprehensive of the Board plan to go ahead with the franchise model for Ranchi and Jamshedpur, have threatened to go on a strike from September 25. A team of the employees met Energy Minister Rajendra Singh ahead of his meeting with Board and department officials on Monday and apprised him of demerits of the proposed plan.
The Board, after some initial pauses, is reported to have decided to push for the ‘reforms’ and allocate power distribution and bill collection works in Ranchi and Jamshedpur to selected private players. However, employees are fighting against the move citing job cut and also bearing the decision would have on the revenue coming to the JSEB.
“The districts where the franchise is being roped in, generate about 75 per cent revenue coming to the Board. With the step, the Board would be deprived of the massive sum. Also about Rs 400 crore is due with the consumers of these cities and its collection rights would go to the private companies,” said Ajay Rai, president of Jharkhand Electricity Supply Workers Association.
The employees have submitted a memorandum with their various other objections over the proposed step of the Board to the Minister. They have also threatened to go on strike that would have severe effect on the Champions league T-20 matches presently undergoing in Ranchi, besides the power supply scenario throughout the State.
“The Minister has assured us that any step would be taken not before taking into consideration the facts and figures presented and available. He said that he would talk to the Board and Department officials and take their views on this. He also assured that none of the employee would lose job by the steps taken by the Government,” said PK Chaturvedi of an association representing engineers.
The employees are also of the view that when most of the areas in the State are reeling under shortage of power it would not be logical and ethical to pass the responsibility to a private company. Chances are that they would blackmail the consumers and the Government for higher electricity rates or fictitious bills in due course of time. There is also no provision for penalty for the franchise if it fails in collecting the dues. Though the Board on its part would share a percentage of the revenue collected.
Board officials, on the other hand, are tightlipped over the issue and said that the matter is still under consideration. “It was a general meeting in which several issues were discussed. No one should jump the gun,” said a senior official of the JSEB. The Associations have called a meeting on September 24 to chalk out their future course of action in this regard.
The JSEB is undergoing with reforms that include handing over power distribution and supply related jobs in private hands and also unbundle the Board into four separate companies. Though, despite ruling of the Supreme Court in this regard, the Board is still playing with the trifurcation idea and pushing the dates forward fixed for the task in the State.