No posts abolished in Electricity Board
Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited Spokesperson, Anurag Parashar has clarified that no posts have been abolished in the Board. He refuted the allegations being made by employee organizations stating that the Board was following the directions of the independent authority, Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission.
He said that the commission has directed the Board to reduce salaries and pension expenses of its employees, as it was the highest in the country, standing at Rs. 2.50 per unit. Given its role in determining electricity tariffs, the commission was continuously reviewing the financial position of the Board and has repeatedly advised reducing employee-related costs, as excessive expenditure could adversely impact the financial health of the Board. Keeping this in view, certain categories of posts were being rationalized instead of abolishing. He siad that recruitment for these posts would be carried out again in the future when required.
The Spokesperson said that the Board was now functioning only as a power distributor company responsible for ensuring uninterrupted electricity supply to the consumers across the state. Despite this, the generation wing of the board still comprises 2,161 posts, including 148 Junior Engineer (JE), 102 Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), 19 Executive Engineers, six Superintendent Engineers and one Chief Engineer, even though power generation was no longer the primary function of the Board. Additionally, there are seven Civil SDOs, 30 Civil JEs, 15 Electrical SDOs, 16 Electrical JEs and one post each of Exn (Electric) and SE (Electric). Apart from these posts, other posts such as Mistry, DG Operator, Welder, Telephone Attendant, Gauge Reader, Cook and Ferro Printer were now redundant. These roles would be replaced with T-Mat positions and this decision will be in the best interest of the Board.
Anurag Prashar said that employees and the officers were the back bone of the board and were diligently providing their valuable services. While acknowledging their contributions, the Board has disbursed Rs. 134 crore in the last two months alone towards Dearness Allowance (DA) and arrears of the revised pay scale to the employees and pensioners. Such a significant amount has not been released in several years. He added that if necessary financial reforms were not taken, the fiscal position of the Board could deteriorate further and it would not be in a position to pay arrears in the future.
