Electricity engineers threaten stir

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, DEC. 9. The APSEB Engineers Association (APSEBEA) has threatened to launch an agitation if the commitments made in the tripartite agreement (between the State Government, the Electricity Board and the Associations) at the time of unbundling the Board are not honoured.

The association has also voiced concern over the "deleterious effects" of the Electricity Bill 2000 brought in by the NDA Government.

It resolved to join the lunch-hour protest demonstrations on December 12 in solidarity with the proposed "strike call" given by the National Coordination Committee on Power Sector and All India Power Engineers Federation against the Electricity Bill 2000.

The general council of the APSEBEA, which met here on Saturday, also deplored the indifferent attitude of the management in keeping up assurances given to the association on opening trusts and depositing amounts towards terminal and pension benefits.

The tripartite agreement envisaged that an amount of Rs 4,617 crores would be set apart towards terminal and pension benefits to all employees consequent on the restructuring of the board with effect from February 1, 1999. Nearly two years have lapsed and not a single paise has been deposited.

At a press conference, Mr.V.Venkat Reddy, president, and Mr.P.V.V. Satyanarayana expressed apprehensions that the APTRANSCO would not be able to pay even salaries to employees as collections had not improved despite a steep hike in the power tariff. It was impossible to achieve the targeted Rs. 7,000 crores of revenue even if the Government released the promised Rs 2,000-crore subsidy.

They said the APTRANSCO had given an undertaking to the AP Electricity Regulatory Authority that about 17 to 18 paise per unit of the raised tariff would be set apart for a trust to take care of the terminal and pension benefits of the employees. But no such trust had been formed till now.

The Association leaders deplored the ``retrograde'' step of appointing retired engineers of the Board as special officers and consultants both in Transco and Genco, who became an impediment between the management and the employees. They also alleged that corruption was rampant at the top level of the organisation.

The general council demanded withdrawal of the transfer orders served on the president and the secretary-general of the association on July 19. The association would resort to agitation if the retention orders were not served by December 15.

Mr.A. Satyanarayana, associate president, Mr.T.V. Rao secretary, finance, Mr.P. Ilaiah, secretary administration, Mr.V. Ramaiah, joint secretary, Mr.G. Sankarnail, secretary, publicity, Mr.B.N. Prabhakar, Mech Engineers representative, and Mr.P. Ratnakar Rao, president of APSEB assistant engineers association, also participated in the press meet.

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Section  : Southern States
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