EPS says DMK govt trifurcate Tangedco to privatise them

CHENNAI: Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday red-flagged the DMK government's move to trifurcate the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) and charged the government conceived the move in a bid to privatise the public sector.

"The government has issued an order to privatise the public sector. It is strongly condemnable," said Palaniswami in a statement.

In the DMK regime in 2006-2011, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) was trifurcated into Tangedco, TANTRANSCO and TNEB Limited following government order dated on October 19, 2010.

The present dispensation is at it again. Now, it decided to trifurcate TANGEDCO and create the TN Power Generation Corporation Ltd (TNPGCL), the TN Power Distribution Corporation Ltd (TNPDCL) and TN Green Energy Corporation Ltd (TNGECL).

The three entities should open separate accounts from April 1.

"TNGECL has been created with provision to handover it to private players," Palaniswami claimed.

"While forming the Electricity Board in 1957, then Chief Minister K Kamaraj promised that there would be no change in concession extended to the workers. The AIADMK regime under M G Ramachandran, J Jayalalithaa and himself continued the concessions to the workforce," he said and allied that the present government's move would take away the welfare and concessions to the workforce.

Under the garb of restoration, reducing the expenditure and streamlining the workforce, the Tamil Nadu government resorted to dismantling the Electricity Board into small entities to pave way to privatise them gradually.

Palaniswami cautioned the DMK government should immediately end such moves and take measures to fill the vacant posts in the department.