While addressing the 9th triennial general convention of Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Technical Employees Union at Baddi in Nalagarh sub-division of Solan district today, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said that the employees of the state play vital role in dissemination and execution of various welfare schemes and programmes. Jai Ram Thakur said that at present there were more than 2 lakh employees and an equal number of pensioners in the state. He said that more than 40 thousand outsourced employees were also providing services in the state. He said that due to the constant efforts of former and present employees the state was moving forward on the path of development. He said that the legitimate demands of the employees were being met and to secure the present and future of the employees many decisions have been taken.
Chief Minister said that the present State Government during its tenure of four and a half years has ensured the development of every section of the society. He said that the decisions taken in the interest of the employees during the tenure were unprecedented. The state government ensured that the employees were given all their dues, salary, pension and other benefits despite the COVID-19 crisis. He said that the State Government would always try to solve the problems of the employees.Jai Ram Thakur said that the employees of the State Electricity Board were performing their duties with honesty and efficiency even in difficult circumstances. He said that as the nature of work of these employees was difficult the State Government was making sure that accidents etc. were brought down by providing safety kits to such employees. He urged the technical staff of the department to use the safety kit while working.
He said that with the cooperation of the officers and employees of the State Electricity Board Himachal has become a fully electrified state and after assuming the office the state government gave priority to the development of the power sector. At present, 100 per cent electrification of rural areas has been done. Recently the state government has decided that free electricity up to 125 units would be provided to the domestic consumers. He said that better facilities were being provided to 26 lakh electricity consumers in the state. Under the Smart City Scheme, 1.24 lakh smart meters have been installed in Shimla and Dharamshala, he added.Jai Ram Thakur said that recruitment was being done on various posts in the State Electricity Board. He said that in the last four years, 4052 posts have been filled out of these, 2721 were technical posts and also 3069 employees have been promoted in the technical section of the Electricity Board, he added.He said that the State Government was keen to solve the problems of every section of the employees. He said that for the first time a committee has been constituted to secure the interest of outsourced employees of the state. He said that on pension matters also a committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary.
Chief Minister said that various legitimate demands of the technical staff of the Electricity Board would be resolved. He announced to reduce the service period for promotion of non ITI employees working on the post of Sub Station Attendant (SSA) in State Electricity Board from ten to seven years. He said that the decision would be taken after deliberation on the issue of removing the word Junior from the post of T-mate.Chief Minister said that coordination between the government and the employees was an indicator of progress. He said that the state was progressing on the path of development only with the cooperation of the employees of the state. He urged the employees to extend their wholehearted support to the government.MLA Doon Paramjit Singh Pammi said that under the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, all sections of the society have got relief in the last four and a half years and equitable development of the state has been ensured.
State President of Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Technical Employees Union, Duni Chand welcomed the Chief Minister and other dignitaries on the occasion. He detailed the problems and various demands of the technical staff of the Board and urged them to resolve them at the earliest.Organizing Secretary of North Zone of Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh Pawan and State President Madan Rana also expressed their views on this occasion.Former MLA Nalagarh K.L. Thakur, Vice President State Gau Seva Ayoug Ashok Sharma, Vice President State Water Management Board Darshan Singh Saini, Solan District BJP President Ashutosh Vaidya, Doon Block BJP President Balbir Thakur, Managing Director State Electricity Board Pankaj Dadwal, other officers, Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Technical Employees Union's State President Dooni Chand, Executing President Lakshman Kapta, Convener Sunil Sharma, General Secretary Nek Ram Thakur, Additional General Secretary Devendra Sandhu, other officials, SP Baddi Mohit Chawla, ADC Solan Zafar Iqbal, officials of BJP and BJYM, other dignitaries and employees of Electricity Board from all over the state were present on the occasion.