Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Wednesday said the state government is standing firmly with power department employees and will strongly represent their case before the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) against Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (HERC) decision to grant a private company, a licence to supply electricity in Gurugram and Nuh.
Deputy commissioners (DCs) of all districts joined the meeting online, while energy minister Anil Vij, chief secretary Anurag Rastogi and director general of police (DGP) Ajay Singhal were also present. The chief minister warned that disturbances under the cover of the power employee unions’ strike will not be tolerated under any circumstances. HERC’s regulations provide for companies to apply for such a licence.
Saini chaired a review meeting with administrative secretaries here to assess arrangements ahead of the three-day state-wide strike from, October 22 to 24, called by the Haryana Power Employees and Engineers Joint Struggle Front.
“Strict legal action will be taken against any anti-social element attempting to damage a power station or power grid… such acts will amount to a waste of public money, which the government will not tolerate,” said Saini. The chief minister said that the government is ready to engage lawyers trusted by the power unions to pursue the case and reiterated that the government’s doors are always open for dialogue. Appealing to the unions to defer their strike in the public interest, Saini said the state government, along with the power unions, has opposed HERC’s decision. “In keeping with the demand of the power employee unions, the government has decided to challenge the decision before APTEL,” Saini said and reiterated that the government “stands firmly with power employees” on this issue and that government’s doors are always open for talks. He told the unions that, if they so wished, the state government is prepared to pursue the case through lawyers of their choice. Energy minister Anil Vij said that HERC is an independent regulator under the Central government. He said that the government had not invited applications for granting a licence to a private company to supply electricity in Haryana. He said the state government, along with the Engineers’ Association, has opposed the grant of a licence to the private company from the outset and will appeal against the decision.
