Shimla – The government has decided to reconsider the termination of services for 81 outsourced drivers and the abolition of 51 posts in various categories in the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB). This development comes after a consensus was reached during a meeting between the United Front of employees and engineers and Energy Secretary Rakesh Kanwar at the State Secretariat on Friday.
The meeting also addressed the contentious decision to transfer the construction of the 66 KV line from the Electricity Board to the Communication Corporation. Energy Secretary Rakesh Kanwar indicated a positive outcome might be expected in this matter.
Representatives of the Electricity Board management, including Director MG Sharma, Manoj Upreti, and Executive Director Isha Thakur, attended the meeting. From the United Front, co-convener Heeralal Verma and other officials raised concerns, particularly about the transfer of the 66 KV line construction from Pooh to Kaza, which they strongly opposed. A consensus was reached to revisit this decision.
Old Pension Scheme Gains Momentum
Another key demand discussed was the implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for Electricity Board employees. Energy Secretary Rakesh Kanwar assured the United Front that Chief Minister Sukhu remains committed to implementing OPS across the state, including within HPSEB.
In addition, the meeting saw an agreement to fill 1,030 vacant teammate posts on a daily wage basis. The United Front was assured that the Cabinet Sub-Committee’s recommendations would be implemented after further discussions with them.
With these agreements, the employees have decided to resume work on Know Your Customer (KYC) tasks for electricity consumers starting today. This involves collecting Aadhaar and ration card information from consumers’ homes, which had been stalled after protests. The management initially aimed to complete this work by October 31 to enable targeted subsidy distribution, restricting it to a single electricity meter per household.
