Report received from Vidyut Karamchari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti, UP
Decision of decisive struggle with the spirit of “do or die” in the electricity panchayat held to get the privatization of electricity reversed – Shailendra Dubey
Announcement of indefinite agitation as soon as the bidding process starts
Demand for reorganization of UPSEB Ltd.
Great anger was seen in the electricity panchayat towards the Energy Minister and the management
Expressing faith in the Chief Minister, appealed to him for effective intervention to stop the privatization of electricity
On 22 December, in the “Bijli Panchayat” organized in the capital of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, it was decided that a decisive struggle will be waged with the spirit of “do or die” to get the privatization of Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam reversed. Bijli Panchayat announced that as soon as the bidding process starts, all the electricity employees and engineers of all the Power corporations will start an indefinite agitation at the same time, which will continue till the privatization of electricity is withdrawn. It was also decided that Bijli Panchayats will be organized in all the districts and projects of the state. In the Bijli Panchayat, it was demanded from the UP government that UPSEB Ltd. should be restructured to improve the power system.
By passing a Resolution in the Bijli Panchayat, the electricity employees and consumers have appealed to the Chief Minister of the state, Hon. Yogi Adityanath ji, to kindly intervene effectively on the very serious issue of public importance like privatization of electricity in 42 districts, so that the conspiracy of the management to sell assets worth billions of rupees to a few corporate houses does not succeed. Vidyut Karamchari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti, UP, while expressing full faith in the Hon. Chief Minister, said that under the able leadership of the Chief Minister, the electricity workers have reduced the AT&C losses from 41 percent in the year 2016-17 to 17 percent in the year 2023-24. The electricity workers appeal to the Hon’ble Chief Minister to stop the one-sided process of privatization so that the electricity workers remain fully engaged in their work with full dedication. The Sangharsh Samiti assured that when 24 percent line losses can be reduced in 7 years, then the electricity workers are certainly capable of bringing down the line losses to 12 percent in the next 1 year.
Chairman of All India Power Engineers Federation Shailendra Dubey, President of All India Power Diploma Engineers Federation RK Trivedi, Secretary General of Electricity Employees Federation of India Prashant Chaudhary, Secretary General of All India Federation of Electricity Employees Mohan Sharma and President of All India State Employees Federation Subhash Lamba, Umashankar Mishra, Satish Pandey, Balendra Katiyar, Chandrashekhar, Kamal Agarwal, Renu Shukla, Mukut Singh, Vijay Bandhu, Hemant Kumar Singh, Anil Verma, Ram Murat, Afif Siddiqui, Kamlesh Mishra, SP Singh, Sanjay Yadav, Radharani Shrivastava, Ekadashi Yadav, Reena Tripathi specially participated in the Bijli Panchayat. Apart from this, officials of all the labor unions of the state government including UP State Employees Federation and State Employees Joint Council also participated in the Bijli Panchayat. Officials of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, AITUC, INTUC, CITU, AITU, UTUC also came to the Bijli Panchayat. All the labour union leaders said in one voice that they fully support the struggle of electricity workers against privatisation of electricity. The labour unions warned that if any harassment is done to even a single electricity employee opposing privatisation, then lakhs of employees and workers of the state will not remain silent and will jump into the agitation along with the electricity workers. Consumer Council President Awadhesh Verma strongly supported the proposal of the Vidyut Karamchari Joint Sangharsh Samiti and said that electricity consumers will struggle shoulder to shoulder with the electricity employees to get the decision of privatisation of electricity withdrawn. This struggle will continue till the privatisation of electricity is withdrawn.
Convener of National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers Prashant Chaudhary said that if the decision of privatisation of electricity in UP is not withdrawn and the electricity workers of UP are forced to agitate, then 27 lakh electricity employees, junior engineers and engineers of the entire country will not remain silent spectators. Along with the electricity employees of UP, electricity employees across the country will go on an indefinite agitation which will continue till the privatisation of electricity is withdrawn. Prashant Chaudhary warned that if any attempt is made to harass any electricity employee of UP, then there will be a strong reaction to it.
In the Resolution passed in the Bijli Panchayat, it has been decided that if the UP government starts any unilateral bidding process for the privatization of Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam and Dakshinchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam, then with the spirit of “do or die”, all the electricity employees, contract workers and engineers of all the energy corporations will be forced to start a movement in a democratic way, the entire responsibility of which will be of the UP government and the management of the Power corporations. The outline of the movement will be announced in due time.
In the Bijli Panchayat, it was demanded that the work of 2×800 MW capacity Obra ‘D’ project and 2×800 MW capacity Anpara ‘E’ project should be completely handed over to UP State Electricity Generation Corporation in the larger public interest. In view of the heavy loss caused as a result of the dissolution of UP State Electricity Council as per the agreement of 25 January 2000, UPSEB Ltd. should be reorganized by integrating UP Power Corporation Ltd., UP State Electricity Generation Corporation Ltd., UP Transmission Corporation Ltd. and all the electricity distribution corporations.
In order to create a wide public awareness against the decision of privatization of Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam, “Bijali Panchayat” will be organized by taking out electricity chariots in a series in all the districts and projects of the state.
It has been said in the Resolution that the experiment of privatization of electricity has completely failed in Greater Noida, Agra and other states of the country. Therefore, it is not justified in any way to impose this failed experiment on the country’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh, by giving wrong figures and creating an atmosphere of fear.
The Resolution states that in the written agreement made with Finance Minister Mr. Suresh Khanna and the then Energy Minister Mr. Shrikant Sharma on 05 April 2018 and 06 October 2020, it has been said that “meaningful action will be taken by taking employees and engineers into confidence to improve power distribution in the current system of power distribution corporations in UP. No privatization will be done anywhere in Uttar Pradesh without taking employees and engineers into confidence”. Now the decision taken for privatization is clearly a violation of this agreement.
