Maharashtra Chief Minister and Energy Minister Devendra Fadnavis has assured around 40,000 contractual power workers that the state will begin a process to secure their services along the lines of the “Haryana pattern”, according to worker representatives who met him in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The assurance was given during a meeting on the pending demands of employees working with Maharashtra’s state-owned electricity companies. Representatives of the Maharashtra State Electricity Employees, Officers and Engineers Action Committee said the government also responded positively to demands concerning bonuses and action taken against employees who had participated in strikes.
The proposed service-security process is expected to cover approximately 40,000 contractual workers employed across the state’s electricity companies. The report did not specify the legal framework, eligibility conditions, timeline or administrative procedure that would govern the proposed measure.
The meeting was attended by Energy Minister of State Meghana Bordikar, Additional Chief Secretary Abha Shukla and Mahavitaran Managing Director Lokesh Chandra. Worker representatives Mohan Sharma, Krishna Bhoyar, Santosh Khumkar and Arun Tilak were also present, according to Loksatta.
The representatives said the government had indicated a positive position on the demand to increase the workers’ bonus to between Rs 19,000 and Rs 20,000. The chief minister also ordered the withdrawal of action taken against electricity workers who had gone on strike, the report said. Details of the employees covered by the order and the process for withdrawing the action were not provided.
The discussions also covered the future structure and financing of Mahavitaran, the state’s electricity distribution company. Fadnavis said a decision had been taken to list Mahavitaran on the stock market to strengthen infrastructure for electricity distribution. He also assured employees that the company would not be privatised and that ownership would remain with the state government.
Mahavitaran’s contractual workforce is involved in the operation and maintenance of the electricity distribution network, but the report did not provide a further breakdown of job categories, regions or employment arrangements. The assurance on service security therefore represents the beginning of a proposed process rather than a completed regularisation or employment decision.
The next steps will depend on the formal procedure adopted by the government and the state electricity companies. The meeting’s outcomes, including the service-security mechanism, bonus decision and withdrawal of disciplinary action, will require further official details before their implementation can be assessed.
