Energy minister Vijendra Prasad Yadav (left) and chief minister Nitish Kumar at the seminar on attracting investments for development of the power sector in Bihar, in Patna on Wednesday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, July 27: Chief minister Nitish Kumar today allayed fears of engineers and other employees of Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB), assuring them that the terms and conditions of their service would not be altered even after the restructuring of the board.

BSEB, in its board meeting, has taken a decision to restructure the board into five different companies to carry out reforms in the power sector according to the Central Electricity Act, 2003. Two companies would be responsible for distribution in the north and south zones, while one company each would be responsible for generation and transmission.

“I assure all engineers and employees of the board that there will not be any change in the terms and conditions of their services even after the restructuring of the board. Many states have done it and we have to do it,” Kumar said, while addressing a seminar on “Powering Bihar” organised by Independent Power Producers Association of India and Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (Berc).

Asserting that there was an urgent need for strengthening the power board, Nitish said: “You (board’s officers and employees) can give your suggestions and advise but let the government take the decisions related to the policy, as it is the sole prerogative of the elected government.”

The chief minister held the Centre responsible for the present power scenario in Bihar. He said it was because of the faulty scheme of Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana under which low capacity tullu transformer of 16KVA and 25KVA were being installed, which are not able to cater to the needs of the village.

Hitting out at the Centre for the step-motherly treatment to the state on various issues that have affected Bihar on the power front, Nitish said: “The Centre is not providing coal linkage for the state’s Barauni thermal plant. Besides, it has been allocating power from those NTPC units that were scheduled to go for maintenance work one by one because of some or the other reason.”

Energy minister Vijendra Prasad Yadav said: “If the state has to make its presence felt on the national front, its role in implementing food security act will be very important. For this, energy is the key as it boosts the agriculture output. Even though energy has been put under concurrent list, the Centre never extended its help to the state.” Bihar Jharkhand Rajya Vidyut Parishad Field Kamgar Union’s general secretary Amrendra Mishra welcomed the chief minister’s statement but hastened to add that things would be “entirely different” once the board is divided into five companies.