Kota thermal staff up in arms over ‘disinvestment’
The Kota Super Thermal Power Station (KSTPS) employees, apprehensive about closure or disinvestment of the plant following the Rajasthan government’s decision to disinvest its stake in two other power plants of the Kota region, are up in arms against any such move.
The authorities, however, have denied any such plan as of now.
While the state government has not met with much success following its last year’s decision to disinvest its stake in the Chhabra Super Thermal Power Station (CSTPS) of Baran and Kali Sindh Thermal Power Station (KTPS) of Jhalawar so far, the KSTPS employee and contractual workers are apprehensive that the government may offload its stake in the plant or even close it. They have started a movement against “any move to sell the profit-making KSTPS to private companies cheaply”.
Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) general secretary (KSTPS) Iqbal Hussain said, “The state government, in a reply to the question raised by some MLAs in the state assembly two years ago, has categorically stated that they have plans of decommissioning four old units of the KSTPS in a phased manner.” He said the employees and contractual workers have formed a joint “Sangharsh Samiti” and launched a movement against the government’s intensions.
There are more than 1,000 permanent employees and over 2,000 contractual working in the KSTPS.
When asked about the apprehensions of the KSTPS employees, Rajasthan Rajya Vidhyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL) chairman and managing director NK Kothari said, “I do not know from where the agitating employees got the information about alleged closure or disinvestment plans, as RRVUNL does not have any information about any such plan of the state government.”
He called the apprehensions as “baseless”. He, however, said the disinvestment process for the other two plants is “underway”.