Chandigarh, Oct. 23 -- Power department employees in Haryana on Friday ended their strike, which had caused severe supply disruption, after the state government addressed their concerns on power regulator HERC's decision to grant licence to a private company.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, in presence of Energy Minister Anil Vij and employee union leaders, in a joint press conference in Panchkula, announced that the strike has been withdrawn by power employees and they will return to work.
Referring to invoking of Section 108 of the Electricity Act, 2003, Saini said the government has given directions to HERC that it should review and cancel its order.
The government would also pursue a review of the order under Section 94 of the Act, in accordance with the commission's applicable powers and procedures.
The power disruption caused due to the strike will be restored now, Saini said.
Vij said the government had been determined from the beginning to challenge the decision and pursue appropriate legal remedies.
During Friday's meeting with representatives of the electricity employees' unions, it was agreed that the state government could issue appropriate directions to the Commission under Section 108 of the Electricity Act, 2003, he said.
The Haryana Bijli Karamchari and Engineers Joint Sangharsh Morcha had earlier called for a three-day strike against Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission's (HERC's) decision granting a parallel electricity distribution licence to a private company for Gurugram and Nuh districts.
Saini said a constructive dialogue was held between the government and employees' unions in a cordial atmosphere.
The chief minister said the government's position on the issue of parallel electricity licence has been clear from the outset and it stands firmly with electricity employees on the matter.
He said the Haryana government is not in favour of privatisation of the power sector in the state.
Saini said Vij had been in regular contact with office-bearers of the electricity employees' unions over the past several days to resolve the issue through dialogue and prevent inconvenience to the public.
He pointed out that even before the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) issued its order, the energy minister had clearly stated in the legislative assembly in August that the state government did not support the granting of parallel electricity licences.
HERC, Saini said, is an independent statutory body established under the Electricity Act, 2003, and exercises its powers in accordance with the law. In view of the situation arising from the commission's order, the state government has decided to initiate appropriate action within the framework of the applicable legal and statutory provisions.
Notably, around 40,000 electricity department employees on Thursday had begun a three-day strike against the entry of a private power distribution company in Gurugram and Nuh.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.