Employees decry
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, August 31 2013 :
The Manipur Electricity Employees' Union has decried the State Government's process for corporatising the Electricity Department.
They maintained that the dismal power situation in Manipur cannot be ameliorated by converting Electricity Department into a corporation.
Speaking to media persons today at Keishampat, working president of the union Y Ranapratap said that the department should not be converted into corporation until all the existing work charge and muster roll employees are regularised.
The department has been enduring acute shortage of staff.
Only 365 work charge employees and 38 muster roll employees have been working in the department day and night for the people.
Number of employees engaged in bill delivery and meter reading has been depleting year after year.
Coupled with the growth of population and increasing pace of modernisation, power requirement and rate of power utilization have been raising day by day.
In spite of the increasing importance of Electricity Department, the department is on the wane, Ranapratap lamented.
The State Government's sudden decision to convert power department into a corporation is disappointing for the employees' union.
In case, the department must be converted into a corporation out of sheer necessity, all the existing employees must be regularised first.
If all electricity consumers of the State make only authorised connections and pay taxes regularly, the power situation would certainly improve.
The power department lacks capacity to go on power disconnection drive for any sustained period for the department is already facing acute shortage of manpower.
The department is currently spending Rs 15 crore in a month in purchasing power.
Against such expenditure, the department manages to collect just around Rs 5 crore in a month in the form of power tax, Ranapratap added.