Patiala, August 29
The Punjab government today gave Mr Sudhir Mittal, presently Secretary, Power and Planning, the additional charge of the Chairman of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB).
Appointment of Mr Mittal as head of the PSEB puts an end to the government’s experiment to have a technocrat Chairman as well as engineers to assist him as members of the Board, which policy had been framed after a series of politicians and bureaucrats held the post of the Chairman of the Board for more than two years. Pressure from the engineers association of the Board as well as the recommendation of former Board Chairman and Energy Adviser had got Mr Gurcharan Singh Sohal the job of Chairman of the Board one year and seven months back before he was forced to go on leave.
According to sources, the notification regarding Mr Mittal’s appointment was issued today. PSEB Chairman G.S. Sohal meanwhile, has left charge of his office and proceeded on leave yesterday.
Mr Mittal has held several important assignments, including that Finance Member of the Board for some months early this year as well as being Commissioner, Excise and Taxation. Currently he was participating in a training course in Delhi.
Mr Sohal had to leave office in an
ignominious manner following sharp differences with Power Minister Sikander Singh Maluka. The Minister had been very vocal against his style of functioning. The removal of Mr Sohal was due to apparent failure in ensuring 24 hour uninterrupted power supply to villages under a special scheme initiated by the government. While first his powers to order transfers and postings of officials was withdrawn, later, he was called to Chandigarh and told to resign his post. He, however, chose to go on long leave.
Though Mr Sohal was unavailable for comments, it is known that he was in favour of making the Board a financially viable unit on its own and felt this could not be possible with the large number of sops being given to various sections of society, including free power to the agriculture sector. Mr Sohal had sought to earn extra revenue to tide over the loss due to free power to the agriculture sector by starting a massive drive to stop theft of power but he was unsuccessful in even this due to large scale political interference in the working of the Board.
The Board has had seven Chairmen during the tenure of the Parkash Singh Badal government. While Mr A.S. Chatha stayed for one month, Mr Jai Singh Gill was in the seat for four months, Union Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa for seven months, Mr Bikramjit Singh for four months, Mr S.K. Tuteja for one year and five months, Mr Bikramjit Singh again for one month and Mr G.S. Sohal for one year and seven months.
