Resolutions passed against political interference; agitation to intensify if issues remain unaddressed.
MORE THAN 1,000 engineers from PSPCL, PSTCL and BBMB, including senior and retired officers and representatives of several employee unions, assembled in Patiala today for a State-Level Protest Meeting organised by the PSEB Engineers’ Association. The turnout reflected growing alarm within the engineering fraternity over what the Association termed “grave threats to the stability and autonomy” of Punjab’s power sector due to escalating political interference.
Engineers Condemn Minister’s Actions, Flag Threat to Power Reliability
The gathering unanimously condemned the recent actions of Power Minister Sh. Sanjeev Arora, saying his decisions had weakened technical integrity, professional dignity and institutional processes. They opposed the move to sell or monetise power sector assets and the hurdles allegedly slowing the establishment of the 2×800 MW supercritical units at GGSSTP, Ropar, a project engineers see as indispensable for future power security.
Engineers attend the state-level protest meeting in Patiala.
There was sharp criticism of the suspension of Er. Harish Sharma, CE/GGSSTP, and the removal of Er. Harjit Singh, Director/Generation, which engineers described as arbitrary steps taken without due process and supported by “unsubstantiated and fabricated technical grounds.” Despite more than a month having passed, the Association noted, no evidence has been produced to substantiate the allegations behind the punitive actions.
The Association warned that these decisions had disrupted sectoral functioning, undermined the Chief Minister’s “Zero Power Outage” directive and posed a serious risk to long-term power reliability. They said these developments reflected a broader and deeply worrying trend of political interference in technical and procurement-related decision-making.
Resolutions Passed; Engineers Urge CM to Intervene
After extensive deliberation, four unanimous resolutions were passed. Engineers demanded an immediate halt to asset monetisation under OUVGL, urgent resumption of the Ropar supercritical project, revocation of the suspension of Er. Harish Sharma and formal condemnation of the removal of Er. Harjit Singh.
Participants at the Punjab power engineers’ protest meeting
They also sought concrete measures to protect professional autonomy and restrict the influence of unaccountable private consultants.
Association President Er. Jasvir Dhiman said the gathering demonstrated the engineers’ resolve to safeguard public-sector institutions. While engineers remain committed to serving the people of Punjab, he said, they cannot allow politically motivated decisions to jeopardise the future of the power sector.
Dhiman urged Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Mann to intervene immediately. Senior engineers and union representatives who addressed the meeting expressed strong solidarity and asserted their opposition to any move to compromise public assets or weaken institutional integrity. 
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