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UT power staff seek stay against administration’s decision
Advocate Arvind Moudgil, senior counsel for UT administration opposed the stay arguing that the employees had waited till the last moment to approach the court even though the notification is dates back to 2020 which lays down how the employees are to be transferred
Acting on a petition seeking stay on the orders of the Chandigarh administration to transfer the services of employees of the electricity department to a private company, the Chandigarh bench of the Chandigarh Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has listed the matter for December 31.
The petition has been filed by UT Powermen Union challenging the administration’s orders.
The employees had told the bench to quash the order of transferring them to a private company. They also requested directions to the respondents to adjust the employees depending upon their qualifications and experience on posts available in any other departments of the Administration instead of forcing them to join them to work under a private company.
They said that their names may be placed under the surplus category and may be adjusted as and when any vacancy is available. The applicants further said that their service conditions could not be altered without their consent, as per law. They said they were seeking the protection of their service conditions under Sections 311 of the Constitution.
Advocate Arvind Moudgil, senior counsel for UT administration opposed the stay arguing that the employees had waited till the last moment to approach the court even though the notification is dates back to 2020 which lays down how the employees are to be transferred.
Former adviser backs privatisation
Amid ongoing protests by employees and political parties against the issue, former UT adviser Parimal Rai has come in support for the move. Rai, who served from 2015 to 2018, has emphasised the benefits of privatisation in addressing the department’s inefficiencies. In a statement, Rai said, “Privatization is the only way for Chandigarh’s electricity department to improve efficiency.”
He further elaborated, “Private sector investment leads to better and more efficient services, adding value for consumers through improvements in operational efficiency, infrastructure upgrades, and an enhanced grievance redressal mechanism. Ultimately, consumers desire an uninterrupted and high-quality power supply without any additional financial burden. Several issues require immediate attention, such as fault detection, load enhancement, and safety concerns.”
Congress extends hunger strike
The hunger strike being undertaken by the activists of Chandigarh Congress to protest against the privatisation issue entered its seventh day on Tuesday. It has been decided to further extend it till Wednesday. Addressing party activists, chief spokesperson Rajiv Sharma informed that a decision was taken to extend the chain fast and the activists living in cooperative societies in Sectors 48 to 51 and 63 will take part in the hunger strike on Wednesday.
