Powermen demand CBI enquiry against the officers of the engineering department for handing over the transmission assets to private company

Powermen demand CBI enquiry against the officers of the engineering department for handing over the transmission assets to private company

Chandigarh 22 December ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : The UT Powermen Union Chandigarh demanded CBI enquiry for handing over the transmission assets to the private company. The Union In  a letter written to the Hon,ble, Administrator of Chandigarh, Shri Gulab Chand Kataria, demanding a high-level inquiry into the illegal transfer of transmission assets to a private company, Eminent, without the approval of the Central Government. They have appealed that the matter be taken up urgently, the decision taken by the officirs be reviewed and the transmission assets should not be handed over to the private company, and the decision of the central government and Union cabinet is only to privatise distribution and retail supply not  for transmission and generation.

Union President Amrik Singh, General Secretary Gopal Dutt Joshi, Vice Presidents Sukhwinder Singh and Gurmeet Singh, and others stated that the officials of the Engineering Department 🏬 have directly violated the Central Government's decision of May 12, 2020, and the Central Cabinet's decision of January 6, 2022.  Initially, the administration issued a notification on February 1, 2025, provisionally transferring 349 employees to the private company for one year, upto January 31. 2026, The notification also stated, under Schedule C, of that the transmission functions and assets would not be transferred to the company. However, now the 220 kV, 66 kV, and 33 kV lines and grid substations are being handed over to the private company Eminent, which is a direct violation of the decisions of the Central Government and the Central Cabinet. These officials of the administration have protected themselves and, by keeping the Administrator in the dark, managed to get the notification issued for the provisionally transfer of 349 officers and employees to the company for one year. Union representatives stated that if the central government's decision and the Electricity Act of 2003 had been implemented correctly, at least 250 officers and employees could have been accommodated against the 1-220 kV substation, 15-66 kV substations, and 5-33 kV substations.

The administration has declined the interests of the employees and given a gift to the private company by handing over the transmission assets to them. Instead of taking action against the officials responsible, they are being rewarded, and the employees are being made scapegoats. It is also noted that the company has neither a distribution license nor a transmission license, yet it has become the owner of these assets. The union's executive committee has the already demanded an inquiry into this matter, and if the administration does not intervene promptly, the ongoing struggle of the employees will be intensified.