Employees allege political interference as PSPCL suspends chief engineer for Ropar and Goindwal plants over ‘hike in fuel cost’

The suspension orders cites unusually high fuel costs at the two state-run thermal plants.

“Despite having coal supplies from the Pachhwara coal mine of the Punjab Government, the fuel cost of Guru Gobind Singh Thermal Power Plant, Ropar, and Guru Amardas Thermal Power Plant, Goindwal Sahib, is higher by 0.75 to 1.25 per unit compared to private thermal power plants. This is causing losses of several crores of rupees to the department. There appears to be irregularities behind this increase in fuel cost. Therefore, to conduct an independent inquiry, Harish Sharma, Chief Engineer (Guru Gobind Singh Thermal Power Plant, Ropar, and Guru Amardas Thermal Power Plant, Goindwal Sahib), is suspended with immediate effect to facilitate an independent inquiry,” reads the order.

The order was issued under the Punjab State Electricity Board Employees (Punishment and Appeal) Regulations 1971 and Regulation 4(1) of the employees’ rules. During the suspension period, Sharma will be entitled to a subsistence allowance and will report to the PSPCL headquarters in Patiala.

The development has caused uproar within PSPCL. The PSEB Engineers’ Association has called an emergency meeting on Sunday to decide its course of action. “We will discuss the matter and announce our plan after the meeting,” said its general secretary, Ajaypal Singh Atwal.

Chief engineer praised by former power minister

Employees have termed the move “arbitrary”, alleging that the CMD bypassed the Board of Directors’ approval while ordering the suspension. “Former power minister Harbhajan Singh ETO had publicly praised the same chief engineer, and now the current minister has him suspended,” said a PSPCL employee, requesting anonymity.

Sanjeev Arora is the power minister now, having taken over in July after winning the Ludhiana West bypoll in June.

For his part, Arora said, “The inquiry is pending; let it take its due course. PSPCL is an autonomous body in decision-making, but the Punjab Government has 100 per cent shareholding in it. Hence, it is answerable to the Government, and all decisions must be taken in the interest of the masses. If our government-owned thermal plants are generating power at Rs 4.50 per unit, compared to Rs 3.05–Rs 3.20 per unit by private thermal plants, we seriously need to work on improving the efficiency of our power plants. The inquiry will reveal everything—so let it happen.”

Retired employees have also voiced their dismay. “In the past eight years, not even eight employees have been recruited in the thermal plant, while hundreds have retired. Yet, the chief engineer managed to run the 36-year-old plant with limited staff and saved Rs 35 crore.
This Government hasn’t set up a single new power project in four years, even as electricity demand has crossed 17,000 MW,” said Gursewak Singh, former president of the Bathinda Thermal Power Plant Employees Union.

The Bathinda thermal power plant was shut down by the Congress government in January 2018, along with two units of the Ropar plant.
Engineers have renewed their demand to appoint a technocrat instead of a bureaucrat as the CMD, saying the latest action reinforces the need for professional, independent management of Punjab’s power utilities.