HARYANA NEWS
Haryana engineers & employees protest leasing of thermal units
April 05, 2012 01:16 PM

By Vinod Gupta
PANIPAT: Haryana power engineers and employees held protest meetings at all the three thermal power plants to express resentment against the decision to lease out 4 units of Panipat thermal plant .

More than 1000 engineers and employees posted at Panipat thermal plant held a 2 hour protest meeting .HSEB workers union and Junior engineers Association joined the power engineers to mark their protest against HPGCL decision.

Haryana Power Generation Engineers Association has demanded that need based Renovation & Modernisation (R&M) be carried out for unit no. 3&4 and the immature hasty decision to lease out of four units of thermal plant should be withdrawn.

The decision taken by Haryana Power Generation Corporation Ltd. (HPGCL) management to lease four units of Panipat Thermal Plant on long term basis has not only caused widespread antipathy among the power engineers but has also taken a heavy toll on the morale of employees.

HPGCL board in its 86th Board meeting held on March 15 decided to engage an agency who will take over Panipat thermal plant on long term basis on lease, rehabilitate unit 3&4 operate and transfer unit 1 to 4 for a period of 10 years on the basis of competitive bidding. The board was discussing Chief Engineer/Planning proposal for R& M of unit 3&4 which was duly approved by CMD .The memorandum had no proposal to lease out the thermal units.

Hardeep Sangwan General Secretary of Association said that the irrational decision enough has the potential to derail the energy enhancement programme of Haryana Government by allowing the private hands to exploit the expensive capital assets.

It may be added that the per MW cost of recently commissioned unit in Haryana i.e. 3x500 MW Jhajjar is 5.26 crore while the total R&M cost of Unit-3&4 works out to be 0.66 crore per MW. NTPC recommendations states that R&M activities should be carried out in phased manner for life extension and technology up-gradation. HPGCL
Management has planned illogical decision leasing out of unit-3 & 4.

The engineers alleged that thermal power plants in Haryana are being fed with poor quality coal against its higher designed value. HPGCL management instead of improving the coal quality is bent upon handing over costly assets of company to a private company on platter.

R S Dahiya President of Haryana Power Engineers Association has demanded immediate review of irrational decision of leasing out thermal units He alleged that the proposal of outsourcing of units to private company was taken with a hidden agenda..