All for power

Patna, Jan. 13: The employees of Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) today protested against the board’s decision to carry out transfer of its employees in the pretext to bring more transparency and check corruption.

Amrendra Prasad Mishra, the general secretary of Bihar Jharkhand Rajya Vidyut Parishad Field Kamgar Union, under whose banner the employees protested at Patna Electricity Supply Undertaking (Pesu) headquarters, said: “Our demand is to stop the mass-scale transfer of the employees, which is not in the interest of the board, not even financially. Our employees protested at their respective district headquarters across the state in support of our demand.”

The union has submitted a memorandum to Pesu general manager S.K.P. Singh who assured the employees that he would apprise the board management about their demand, Mishra said.

Stating that these transfers would adversely affect the already financially weak board, he said the decision would put additional financial burden on its exchequer, as it would have to pay the allowances for transfers made in other districts.

Justifying the union’s demand, Mishra said it seemed that the decision has been taken without consideration. He said: “As 60 per cent of the employees transferred would retire in less than two years and as per the board’s rule those who were about to retire within two years cannot be transferred.”

Technical and Grade-four employees cannot be transferred outside their division but the board even transferred these employees, Mishra said.

He said even aged women have not been spared.

He said: “There is no work left for us as everything like taking metre readings, bill generation and distribution, maintenance and management of 11 KV lines in rural areas have been outsourced. If they really want to check corruption, they should instead identify the flaw in the system.”

The board has decided that employees would be transferred on a priority basis and in the first phase those who have completed 10 years at one place would be transferred and then those who have completed five and three years would be transferred.