Chandigarh: Haryana Energy Minister, Anil Vij on Friday said that discussions with the Energy department employees’ unions over their proposed three-day strike from August 11 to 13 are continuing and expressed confidence that the government would be able to persuade them to withdraw the strike.
While interacting with the mediapersons, Vij said that representatives of various Energy Department employees’ unions had recently been invited for detailed discussions, which he personally attended along with senior departmental officers.
He said the unions had primarily raised three key demands. The first was that electricity distribution should not be privatised through the grant of a parallel distribution licence. Responding to this concern, the Minister explained that the matter is currently before the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC), which is an autonomous statutory body and does not function under the Energy Department.
Anil Vij clarified that the application for a parallel electricity distribution licence was submitted directly to HERC and not through the Energy Department. He said the Commission is presently hearing the matter. He further informed the unions that the Haryana Government has formally opposed privatisation before HERC and that departmental officers had placed the government’s objections on record during the proceedings in accordance with the documents approved by the government. After this clarification, he said, the issue had been resolved during the meeting.
Referring to the second demand regarding smart meters, Anil Vij said that no tenders have yet been floated for the project and that the proposal is still under process. “Since no tenders have been issued so far, this concern also stood addressed,” he added.
On the unions’ third demand regarding the proposed Agri DISCOM, the Energy Minister said that while the Chief Minister had referred to the proposal during the Assembly session, there has not yet been any discussion between him and the Chief Minister on the matter. Therefore, he said, it would be premature to comment on the future course of action.
Anil Vij said that after receiving these clarifications, the unions had initially agreed and the issues appeared to have been resolved. However, after the meeting, “certain mischievous elements” allegedly misled them, following which the strike was announced.
Despite this, the Minister said the government remains committed to dialogue. Our discussions with the unions are continuing. Even today, Energy Department officers and officials are engaged in talks with them, and I am fully confident that we will be able to convince the Energy Department employees, he said.
India’s defence capabilities are being strengthened under Prime Minister Modi-Anil Vij
Reacting to the successful launch of the Agni-4 ballistic missile, the Energy Minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, India’s defence capabilities are being continuously strengthened across land, sea and air. The armed forces are being equipped and strengthened in every possible way to ensure the nation’s security, he said.
