A joint front of power engineers and employees in Haryana has announced a state-wide agitation against the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (HERC) decision to grant Eleven Power Private Limited a 25-year parallel electricity distribution licence for Gurugram and Nuh revenue districts.
The decision to launch the agitation was taken at an emergency meeting of the joint front in Karnal on Monday evening, with the protesters describing the regulatory order as a threat to the state’s public power distribution system.
Effigies to be burnt, followed by three-day strike
Joint front spokesperson Baljit Beniwal said protesters would burn effigies of Union energy minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini and HERC chairman Mukesh Garg on Tuesday at multiple locations across the state.
On October 21, employees will burn copies of the HERC ruling at various locations, calling it a “black order”. The protests will then escalate into a three-day strike from October 22 to 24.
The joint front plans to announce its next phase of action on the final day of the strike, Beniwal said.
Front alleges indirect privatisation of power sector
Describing the ruling as a “black day” in Haryana’s history, Beniwal alleged that the decision amounted to “indirect privatisation” of the state’s power sector.
“Handing over high-revenue industrial and commercial hubs like Gurugram and Nuh to a private player is a direct attempt to cripple the state-owned Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN),” Beniwal said.
He further alleged that the state government intended to hand over additional districts to private entities in the future, raising concerns among power sector employees over the potential expansion of private distribution operations across Haryana.