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Journalism of Courage
LUCKNOW, JANUARY 13: The Uttar Pradesh Governemnt on Thursday declared the proposed strike by an estimated one lakh powermen from January 15 as "illegal" and said it would go ahead with its decision to trifurcate the State Electricity Board, even as employees unions claimed their ‘boycott work’ agitation has affected power supply in the state for the second day on Friday.
Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta and Energy Minister Naresh Agarwal told reporters here that the move to decentralise the board was in the larger interest of both the employees and the people, and was aimed at reforming the power sector.
A formal notification on trifurcation of the board into separate corporations for power generation, transmission and distribution would be announced by tomorrow, they said
They assured that power tarrif in the private sector would not be allowed to be hiked by more than 16 per cent of the present rate for the general consumers. The government would decide about giving substantial subsidy for powerconsumers in the agriculture sector, they added.
The restructuring of the board would improve its financial health and administrative functioning, Agarwal said. The board had incurred a loss of Rs 10,000 crore and owed over Rs 19,000 crore to the government. But the government has agreed to write off these dues, he said.
He said, the government was open to negotiations with the electricity unions who have called for strike from 8 a.m. of January 15 but already launched "boycott work" agitation.
A spokesman for the unions alleged that the government has launched crackdown on union leaders.
