Electricity employees in Haryana are set to go on a three-day strike from Thursday to protest the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission's (HERC) decision to grant a private company a 25-year parallel power distribution licence for Gurugram and Nuh. The state government, however, has assured the employees that it will challenge the order before appellate authority.
A day before the strike was scheduled to begin, a delegation of electricity employees met Power and Energy Minister Anil Vij on Wednesday. Despite the minister's appeal to call off the agitation and the government's assurance that it would challenge the regulatory decision, the employees remained firm on their decision to strike, viewing the licence as a step towards privatisation.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini also held a high-level meeting on Wednesday to review the situation. He said the government would challenge the HERC decision before the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) and contest the case forcefully.
Saini assured the employees that the government stood firmly with them and was prepared to fight the case with lawyers of their choice, if the unions wished. He also said the doors for dialogue remained open and appealed to the power unions not to proceed with the strike.
The Chief Minister directed officials and departments to make proactive arrangements to ensure that the public did not face inconvenience because of the agitation, particularly during the festive season.
WHY ARE HARYANA POWER EMPLOYEES PROTESTING?
The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) recently granted Eleven Power Private Limited a 25-year parallel licence to distribute electricity in Gurugram and Nuh. The decision has triggered protests by the Haryana Bijli Karamchari and Engineers Sanyukt Sangharsh Morcha, a joint front of electricity employees and engineers, which has termed the move anti-public and anti-employee.
The employees fear that the entry of a private distributor into the two districts could weaken the state-owned Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN). They argue that the shift of high-revenue industrial and commercial consumers to the private company could undermine the financial position of the state-run distribution utility.
The opposition to the decision has already triggered demonstrations across Haryana, with protesters burning copies of the HERC order and effigies of Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and HERC Chairman Mukesh Garg.
The employees have described the regulatory decision as privatisation through the back door. Their joint front has decided to proceed with the strike despite the state government's assurances.
Power and Energy Minister Anil Vij has appealed to the employees to reconsider their decision, asserting that the state government opposes power privatisation and did not invite applications for the licence.
Vij said that under central law, any eligible party could apply to HERC, an autonomous regulatory body. He maintained that the government would challenge the commission's decision before APTEL within five to six days, despite having 45 days to file an appeal, and seek a stay on the order.
He also said the government would approach the Supreme Court if necessary.
Vij urged the employees to give the government an opportunity to contest the decision through legal channels, arguing that a strike would have been justified had the government refused to challenge the order.
"My doors are always open," Vij said, reiterating his willingness to engage with the employees.
Despite these assurances, the unions have remained adamant about proceeding with the strike, raising the prospect of disruption to electricity-related services across the state.
CONGRESS ATTACKS SAINI GOVT, QUESTIONS ANIL VIJ
The Congress has criticised the HERC decision and questioned the state government's position, accusing it of sending contradictory signals on power privatisation.
Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda described the licence as a dangerous step towards privatisation and warned that it could lead to higher electricity tariffs for farmers and the poor.
Hooda also claimed that Gurugram alone accounted for nearly a third of DHBVN's revenue, highlighting the potential financial implications for the state-owned utility if the private company draws away consumers from lucrative areas.
Other Congress leaders have also targeted the Nayab Singh Saini government and Vij over the issue.
Senior Congress leader Kumari Selja questioned the government's approach, saying it was now talking about approaching the courts even as the process leading to privatisation had been allowed to proceed. She described the situation as a case of the "left hand does not know what the right hand does".
Congress MLA Jessi Petwar also criticised the government, saying Haryana had reached a point where its own power minister appeared helpless.
Speaking to reporters in Chandigarh, Petwar questioned why Vij was talking about challenging the decision in court instead of taking up the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, whom she accused of being the key decision-makers.
She described the proposed legal challenge as absurd and called it a red herring, questioning whether the government's move to court would address the underlying issue of privatisation.
The Congress has accused the state government of publicly opposing privatisation while allowing a decision that could facilitate greater private participation in electricity distribution.
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