Power disruption: Chandigarh admn cracks whip, suspends two JEs

Services of 17 outsourced staffers terminated, notices issued to 126 regular employees for grave misconduct by remaining absent from government duties, which resulted in non-maintenance of defaulting lines, affecting power supply in many Chandigarh areas

In its first steps to fix responsibility for the large-scale power outages during the powermen’s strike on February 22 and 23, the UT administration on Friday initiated action against a number of electricity department employees.

On Thursday, the Punjab and Haryana high court had lambasted the Chandigarh administration for conceding to the UT Powermen Union’s demands when it had already enforced the Essential Services (Maintenance) Act (ESMA). (HT File Photo)

The administration suspended two junior engineers, who were supervising electricity supply of GMCH-32 and GMSH-16 when the strike started, and terminated the services of 17 outsourced employees.

Also, a show-cause notice was issued to the superintending engineer (electricity) for lack of cooperation with the army authorities in restoration of power supply after the electricity department employees went on strike.

Further, show-cause notices were also issued to 126 regular employees of the department for grave misconduct by remaining absent from government duties, which resulted in non-maintenance of defaulting lines, affecting power supply in many city areas.

FIRs against 143 employees have also been registered.

To scrutinise the lapses that led to power failure at GMCH-32 and GMSH-16 right after the strike started on Monday midnight and to investigate the power disruptions in the rest of the city, the administration had constituted a committee, headed by the health secretary and comprising the two hospitals’ medical superintendents and an electrical executive engineer.

On Thursday, the Punjab and Haryana high court had lambasted the administration for conceding to the UT Powermen Union’s demands when it had already enforced the Essential Services (Maintenance) Act (ESMA).

The rebuke came after the administration informed the court that it had reached an agreement with the union after conceding to their demand of not issuing the letter of intent to the private company till March 10, when the case against power privatisation will come up next in high court. Terming the compromise akin to bootlicking, the court also asked the deputy commissioner to appear in court on March 3 with the action-taken report.

Following this, in a late-night meeting, the administration had decided to take disciplinary action against the employees involved in power disruption.

The culprits were identified by the police through CCTV footage and other evidence. The Chandigarh DGP was also asked to put the investigation on fast track.

Further, to find out the extent of damage caused to the electrical infrastructure and other details, a three-member committee was constituted.

The committee, that will submit its report in 15 days, comprises a superintending engineer-cum-electrical inspector from the power department, an executive engineer and one member from Punjab Engineering College.

Employees of the UT electricity department had given a call for three-day strike from February 22 to 24. ESMA was imposed on Tuesday night to prohibit any strikes by them for six months.

For nearly two days, lakhs of Chandigarh residents were forced to live without electricity and water supply, while the health services, industry, businesses and educational institutions also suffered major disruptions amid the powermen’s strike.