Power sector personnel across Haryana have escalated their agitation against the entry of private players into the state's electricity distribution network. Opposing the decision to permit a private entity to distribute electricity in the key districts of Gurugram and Nuh, utility employees declared a three-day work stoppage starting October 22. Demonstrations were organized at Rajgarh Roadways Vidyut Nagar Sadan in Hisar to register dissent. Anticipating disruptions, the state administration issued directives on Wednesday afternoon canceling the sanctioned leaves of 25 power department officials and instructing them to report to their posts immediately.
Staff Decline Minister's Short-Notice Meeting Invitation
In an effort to defuse the standoff, Energy Minister Anil Vij had scheduled an interaction with employee representatives for Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 PM. However, the Haryana Bijli Karamchari and Engineer Sanyukt Sangharsh Morcha, which represents electricity staff and engineers, rejected the dialogue invitation. The group conveyed its inability to attend via a formal letter addressed to the Chief Engineer of HVPNL.
Union representatives noted that the government had issued the meeting notice with very little advance time. Furthermore, several senior functionaries of the collective were unwell, while other key members had unavoidable pre-scheduled engagements. Because of these constraints, the leadership decided not to participate in the discussions called by the administration.
Backlash Over 25-Year Parallel License Awarded to Private Entity
The statewide stir is directed against the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC), which granted a 25-year parallel power distribution license to Eleven Power Private Limited for Gurugram and Nuh. The decision to initiate this agitation was finalized during an emergency gathering convened by the joint front in Karnal on Monday evening.
Joint front spokesperson Baljeet Beniwal announced that on October 21, utility personnel would burn copies of the regulatory order at various locations across the state, describing it as a black order. This protest will lead directly into the full-scale three-day strike running from October 22 through October 24. On the final day of the shutdown, union leaders plan to unveil the next phase of their movement.
Concerns Over Weakening of State Utility DHBVN
Characterizing the regulatory directive as a dark day in the state's administrative history, Baljeet Beniwal asserted that granting parallel licensing amounts to backdoor privatization of Haryana's electricity ecosystem. He emphasized that Gurugram and Nuh represent major commercial and industrial hubs that generate the bulk of operational revenue for the public sector. Diverting these profitable zones to a private enterprise is seen by the employees as a deliberate attempt to undermine the state-run Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN).
