Chandigarh electricity department awaits Centre’s nod to fill vacant posts

The department has 286 assistant linemen against sanctioned strength of 625, 158 linemen against 253. As many as 38 posts of junior engineer and nine of assistant executive engineer are lying vacant

The UT Electricity Department, which is grappling with staff shortage, has been waiting for approval from the Union ministry of power for more than six months to fill the vacant posts.

As per an official record, the department has a total of 1,049 employees against a sanctioned strength of 1,780. The department had sought approval for additional manpower from the ministry in June, 2015. Against a sanctioned strength of 625 assistant linemen, the department is managing with 286 employees, while only 158 linemen are working against a sanctioned strength of 253. As many as 38 posts of junior engineer and nine of assistant executive engineer are lying vacant.

Taking serious note of the shortage, the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) has directed the department to vigorously pursue the matter with the ministry and acquire approval by January 31.

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UT Superintending Engineer M P Singh said that they were trying their best to mitigate the crisis.

General secretary of the UT Powermen Union Gopal Datt Joshi said that the shortage of staff was affecting the functioning of the department. “The depleting staff strength has taken a toll on preventive maintenance. A large number of lineman will be retiring in the next five years. The department needs to act swiftly,” said Joshi.

He added that the fault detection cells of the department were also not functioning properly. “Due to shortage of staff, the department has also not been able to keep a check on theft of power,” said Joshi.

The electricity department caters to a total of 2.12 lakh consumers, out of which 1.75 lakh are in the domestic category. After the department came into being in 1976, there has been no change in the structure and the last sanction for officer-level manpower was given in 1992. As per the department, the load has increased three times over the years, while the total number of connections have gone up by almost 80 per cent.

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The commission has also directed the department to adequately train its staff in safety measures and filing quarterly progress reports on the same.

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