Power staff's appeal to govt: Stall move to privatise discoms
It also warned of nationwide protests if the privatisation move continues in UP. The call was made during the AIPEF Federal Council meeting held in Lucknow, chaired by Shailendra Dubey, with participation from senior office bearers across multiple states.
The federation emphasised that privatisation threatens the interests of farmers and poor consumers and undermines the public sector's role in ensuring equitable power distribution.
Citing Odisha's failed privatisation experiments—including the cancellation of Reliance Power's licences and recent notices to Tata Power companies for poor service—AIPEF argued that privatisation consistently failed to deliver.
In UP, AIPEF alleged collusion with corporate houses, pointing to irregularities in the privatisation process, including the appointment of Grant Thornton as a consultant despite its penalised record in the US.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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The federation condemned the preparation of privatisation documents without proper asset valuation, potentially risking public assets worth over Rs 1 lakh crore. In Maharashtra, AIPEF criticised the "parallel license" model as a strategy to privatise profits, demanding its immediate cancellation. AIPEF also opposed privatisation in transmission and generation sectors, warning that tariff-based competitive bidding and joint ventures would lead to higher costs for consumers.
It condemned the "repression of power employees through transfers, salary stoppages, and FIRs against union leaders".
It demanded the withdrawal of these actions and urged consumers to support electricity workers in resisting privatisation. Representatives from power engineer associations across 20 states attended the meeting, signalling a united front against privatisation and a commitment to preserving the public character of India's power sector.
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