Press release of Maharashtra State Electricity Workers Federation
(Press Release in Marathi attached at the end)
Maharashtra State Electricity Workers Federation
(Affiliate: All India Trade Union Congress)
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Mumbai Press Release Date 19.06.2026
Workers Federation opposes listing of Mahavitaran Power Company in the stock market
Mahavitaran Power Company, under the jurisdiction of the Maharashtra Government, is the leading power company in the country, providing uninterrupted power to 3 crore 17 lakh electricity consumers and 44 lakh farmers in the state at subsidized rates. This company has set a target of providing power to 99 percent of the region by building a 3 lakh kilometer power system. The employees, engineers and officers of this power company have built assets worth Rs 3 lakh crore by sacrificing their lives. During the state-wide strike to prevent the privatization of this company, which is famous in the Asian continent, Hon. Devendraji Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister and Power Minister, has agreed that there will be no privatization of any kind of power companies.
New ways of privatization by avoiding the use of the word privatization
On April 7, 2026, the Maharashtra government approved the division of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company into two divisions. The first company is for industrial, commercial, residential and other electricity consumers and the second is an independent company, M.S.E.B. Solar Agro Power Limited, for agricultural consumers only. With this decision, the government will take responsibility for the arrears of 44 lakh farmers and agricultural pump owners in the independent agricultural company. As a result, the burden of arrears on the distribution company will reduce and the financial situation will strengthen.
Even if it is assumed that the government’s intention to create an agricultural company is correct, the intention of the government and the management behind listing the Mahavitaran Company in the stock market is to take it towards privatization in a hidden way. IPO is not another third party, but a step taken towards privatization through reducing the ownership of the public sector government Mahavitaran Company. Therefore, the Workers Federation is strongly opposed to the IPO.
Potential risks of IPO
After the IPO, the shares of the Mahavitaran company will be listed in the market and available for purchase and sale. Although the government and the management initially showed a low percentage of the shares to be listed in the private sector, this percentage will gradually increase as capitalist companies increase their ownership in Mahavitaran. The IPO of the Mahavitaran company is a means of reducing government ownership and is a way to take it towards privatization. After the IPO, ‘Follow on Public’ Offerings (FPOS) will be introduced to reduce the government share in Mahavitaran. Similarly, in the last few years, the government ownership in many public enterprises has been reduced to 55 to 60 percent through FPOS. It cannot be ignored that the reality is that the IPO will end social accountability in Mahavitaran and will be the beginning of profitability (profitable) accounting.
Employees of Mahavitaran will be lured
There is a possibility that the government and the management will also be tempted to give 10-15 percent shares so that the employees, engineers and officers of Mahavitaran do not oppose the IPO. However, the effects of the IPO policy on State Bank of India, and LIC are in front of us. The linkage of shares through IPO will remain above 51 percent for the government, so even after that, the control over the company will remain with the government. However, we cannot forget that the Chief Economic Advisor of the Union Finance Ministry has advised to bring down the minimum government shareholding limit in public sector undertakings to 26 percent. If the state government and our management follow it, the control of capitalist companies will automatically come.
Not only through IPO, but also through various means, there is a process of privatization of a vast area of Mahavitaran company by shifting it to the jurisdiction of capitalists and their companies. Various methods are being adopted for the privatization of the power industry, franchising, parallel power distribution licenses, bringing private companies to compete with the Maharashtra Distribution Company, bringing meter reading and recovery work to the surface through smart billing are currently underway in Maharashtra. Efforts are being made to bring franchise companies in some circles of the Maharashtra Distribution Company. Therefore, to oppose these policies and measures, workers, employees, engineers and officers should unite to save their company and for their existence.
In the case of IDBI Bank, which is a public sector undertaking, the government initially reduced the government ownership through IPO and FPO and later made LIC a major shareholder in this bank and brought its stake below 51 percent. As a result, IDBI Bank is no longer a public sector bank and can be privatized. The situation of Mahavitaran can also be exactly the same.
How is the price of Mahavitaran, which has assets worth crores of rupees, 14000 crore?
The total price for the IPO of Mahavitaran Company, which has a profit of 478 crore rupees, has been set at only Rs. 14000 crore. This low price was set for the benefit of the capitalist so that it would be in the interest of companies like Adani. The Workers Federation is opposed to this.
This is the agenda of the biggest capitalists in the country like Adani, Ambani, Tata, Goenka, Jindal Torrent (Mehta Group) to gain complete control of the power sector through privatization. These monopolistic families already have dominance over thermal power generation in the country and own the entire value of renewable energy. Now they want to gain control over the sector of Mahavitaran, Mahapareshan as well. This policy of IPO is an aggressive step towards that agenda.
The government has not taken the stakeholder trade unions into confidence.
Therefore, there are many questions in the minds of the trade unions regarding the listing in the stock market. The proposal and demand tender for the selection of book running lead managers (merchant bankers) for the proposed initial public offering (IPO) was floated on 27 May 2026 and no advertisement has been given in any newspaper regarding this tender. Therefore, this tender is in doubt.
The Maharashtra State Electricity Workers Federation has requested the Hon. Chief Minister and the Power Minister to organize a joint meeting with the trade unions and discuss this very sensitive policy.
Yours faithfully
Mohan Sharma Krishna Bhoyar
President General Secretary
Upload.Marathi.MSEWF Press Note 190626