Staff Crunch Hits TANGEDCO hard

Staff Crunch Hits TANGEDCO Hard

By J Shanmugha Sundaram

Published: 29th May 2015 06:02 AM

VELLORE:The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) is falling short in catering to customer complaints , with routine repair and maintenance in the Vellore district remaining woefully inadequate. This is because of two factors: the first being an extreme shortage of staff and second being the number of electricity connections in each area exceeding the permissible levels by a wide margin. 

These two factors combine to result in customers being shortchanged in the service they deserve.

TANGEDCO and its labourers arrived at a settlement agreement in accordance with the Industrial Dispute Act in January 2014 which determined that there were 42,000 vacancies comprising nearly 50 per cent of sanctioned posts. Almost 32 per cent of these vacancies are of field staff that have been lying vacant for several years.

“In 1968, the total number of employees of TANGEDCO was 1.05 lakh in the state. Now, it is around 73,000. The present situation is due to retirements and the freeze on recruitment,” said the president of Vellore branch of Central Organisation of Tamil Nadu Electricity Employees V E Ekanatheswaran.

An electricity board staff at work in Sathuvachari in the district.

An official in TANGEDCO echoed this sentiment claiming that TANGEDCO has not been recruiting regularly to fill vacancies that have arisen from  employees retiring for the last two to three years. With the number of field staff such as mazdoors (helpers), field assistants, wiremen and foremen falling short, the department is facing a herculean task attending to essential repair and maintenance.

                               

                    

 Additionally, the density of service (electricity connections) in each section in the Vellore Circle   

is over 15,000 well above the permissible level of 10,000 to 12,000 connections. For instance, in Sankaranpalayam section, the number of electricity connections exceed 18,000, almost double the permissible number of connections.  Officials in Vellore have been kept busy the last three days, with complaints pouring in  following rain accompanied by strong winds and hailstorms. They have been unable to repair the snapped lines and damaged electric poles in a timely manner due to shortage of staff.

“Rains with strong winds make the situation more difficult for us. We are facing the wrath of the public who are not aware of the persisting problem in the department,” said a wireman.

“I have only four men - a wireman, a foreman, a helper and a field assistant - in the place of the sanctioned posts of 20 men. Complaints of electric lines getting cut, branches of trees falling on high tension, domestic lines and transformers are pouring in from the public. Our men are working round the clock without rest,” said a Junior Engineer. “Poor administration policies have failed to fill the vacant posts to meet the increasing need for new services,” he said.