Union Strongly Condemns Chandigarh Administration's Electricity Department for Refusing to Allot Electricity Pool Housing to Employees Transferred to Private Company CPDL

Union Strongly Condemns Chandigarh Administration's Electricity Department for Refusing to Allot Electricity Pool Housing to Employees Transferred to Private Company CPDL Without Their Consent; Demands CBI Inquiry into the Entire Episode.

Chandigarh 04 April ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : After transferring employees from the Chandigarh Administration's Electricity Department to the private company CPDL—without first obtaining the employees' consent—the very administration that had promised "no detriment" to the staff is now, one by one, stripping away the benefits and facilities previously available to them. Involved in this scheme are the very officials who, in defiance of Central Government directives, initiated the bidding process for 100% of the distribution operations. Furthermore, despite the absence of any decision regarding the privatization of transmission infrastructure, they proceeded to put up for bid—and subsequently sell—all assets related to the 220 kV, 66 kV, and 33 kV networks. Yet, to safeguard their own positions within the administration, they retained the operational license and secured their own redeployment within the department by citing the State Transmission Utility (STU) and State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC). This stands in direct contradiction to the very transfer policy they invoked to orchestrate this manipulation—a policy which explicitly stipulates an "As is, where is" principle, meaning employees should continue to work at their existing locations. By failing to apply this rule to themselves, the officials who have been involved in this entire saga from its inception to the present day now stand squarely in the dock; indeed, they remain preoccupied with appeasing their superiors even today in a desperate attempt to defend their actions.

A glaring example of this malfeasance is the overnight allotment of 51 housing units from the Electricity Pool to officers and employees of the Engineering Department on March 27, 2026—followed by the allotment of another 10 units on March 30, 2026—bypassing the electricity department employees who were the rightful beneficiaries. Moreover, in a move that further highlights the impropriety, the keys to these units were handed over to the recipients on public holidays. Expressing astonishment over the matter, Union President Amrik Singh, General Secretary Gopal Dutt Joshi, and other office-bearers stated: "What sudden crisis has arisen that residential quarters—which had remained vacant for over a year—were allotted overnight? This was done illegally by constituting an ad-hoc Allotment Committee and completely bypassing established procedures. 

Furthermore, despite the ruling by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), possession of these quarters is now being handed over in a hasty manner. In blatant disregard of the stay order issued by the CAT, these actions are being carried out surreptitiously, constituting a clear contempt of court. This situation warrants an immediate CBI inquiry to bring the truth to light." It is pertinent to reiterate here that, initially, the employees' status as government servants was revoked; this resulted in the cessation of various benefits they previously enjoyed—such as access to bank loans, school admissions for their children, and assistance with passport issuance. Subsequently, the provision of the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) to employees was discontinued. Retired employees have been denied their rightful dues—including pensions, gratuities, and even their own General Provident Fund (GPF) accumulations—for periods ranging from four to twelve months. They are also being denied payment for their accumulated leave encashment. 

Furthermore, retired employees are being refused access to the Sector Government Health Scheme (SGHS)—a benefit modeled after the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS). The situation did not end there; on March 11, 2026, applications were invited for the allotment of residential quarters, with a submission deadline of March 13, 2026. While applications for these "Electricity Pool" quarters were solicited from employees across various departments within the Engineering Wing, no applications were sought from those employees who had been transferred from the Department to CPDL. This is despite the fact that these transferred employees hold the primary right to the allotment of these quarters. However, certain officials—who continue to hold their positions within the Department solely at the mercy of the administration—have stripped these employees of this rightful claim. By arbitrarily constituting a committee of their own choosing, and without finalizing the seniority list, they have hastily allotted these quarters to their favored individuals. Consequently, those employees who had applied for higher-category quarters or had sought a change in allotment were completely sidelined. In this regard, the joint charter of demands submitted by the employees, as well as the memorandum presented by the Union, were completely disregarded. Furthermore, even the directives issued by the Hon'ble Punjab and Haryana High Court concerning this matter were cast aside. The UT Powermen Union has appealed to the Hon'ble Administrator to intervene, dissolve the illegally constituted Allotment Committee, and cancel the housing allotments that were made on the basis of nepotism.