The electricity workers, employees and engineers of Assam and the Northeast on Sunday voice their concerns regarding the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2014 which will be tabled during the upcoming Parliament session.
A resolution was adopted at the North Eastern Regional Convention organized by National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees & Engineers (NCCOEEE), held on Sunday in Guwahati.
President of AIPEF, Sailendra Dubey said, “The Bill is against the interests of the common people and the workers. We stand against the segregation of carriage and content of electricity.”
The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2014 seeks to segregate the distribution and supply of electricity by introducing multiple licenses.
“The revenue potential cities and industrial hubs are being allocated to private companies and state owned distribution companies are given commercially unviable locations. The Union Ministry of Power’s move towards privatizing the profits and nationalizing the losses is not acceptable to us,” he added.
Representatives from Tripura, Meghalaya, National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC), Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd and NEEPCO were present as part of the nation-wide agitation against the “anti-people” Bill.
General secretaryof Assam State Electricity Supply Mazdoor Union, Nayan Jyoti Chakraborty said, “The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2014 is an ‘anti-people’ Bill. In today’s convention, we have taken the resolution to stand against the privatization of power sector. Further, we will take part in the rallies in the future when the Bill is presented in the Parliament.”
The electricity workers’ unions across the country have resolved to organize mass mobilizations on March 14 across state capitals. Moreover, they will undertake a Parliament rally in Delhi in April.
