Non-appointment of officers in crucial posts gives daily ‘shocks’ at Vidyut Bhawan!

Jaipur: Owing to more than half a dozen posts in Vidhyut Bhawan being vacant, the work is being affected immensely. There has been no Managing Director in Ajmer Discom for the past five months while the post of Managing Director of Urja Vikas Nigam has also been vacant for the past three months. But perhaps a more serious issue is the vacant post of Director (Technical) in all five power companies in the new government as well and experts claim that handing over the responsibility as an additional charge on an adhoc basis is not a sign of good governance.

While the state government appointed MDs in Jaipur and Jodhpur Discoms, the same post was left vacant in Ajmer Discom and now Chief Engineer KP Verma is handling the roles of that position.

Experts have termed this arrangement to be impractical and illogical. When an IAS has been posted as MD in Jaipur and Jodhpur, in such a situation not appointing an IAS in Ajmer is beyond comprehension.

The Urja Vikas Nigam handles the work of sale and purchase of power and in this connection, major decisions have to be taken at an accelerated pace. But ever since NC Bansal retired in April, the state government has not made any posting here and took the simple route of handing over the additional charge to Bhanu Prakash Yeturu.

It is a well-known fact that 2003 batch IAS Yeturu is carrying out his role of Chairman Discoms and MD Jaipur Discom with great difficulty. In fact, there was a time when Yeturu was carrying out the responsibilities of seven posts all at the same time.

It was ACS Alok who as Chairman of Urja Vikas Nigam handled the work of sale and purchase of power during the power crisis in the state otherwise without a full-time MD, several problems might have arisen. Word is that now Yeturu has requested the government for a lighter assignment away from the Vidyut Bhawan.

A serious point here is that posts of Director (Technical) are lying vacant in Vidyut Utpadan Nigam, Vidyut Prasaran Nigam and three Discoms, which, according to experts, is a crucial position in all five institutions. Advice by Director (Technical) holds immense importance regarding technical decisions in the Central Level Purchase Committee (CLPC) and the purchase of crores of rupees worth of power. In the Board meetings, the advice and suggestions of Director are given preference after the Chairman’s word, but Chief Engineers have been given the additional charge of Director in all 5 institutions, which according to administrative experts is not correct.

On the other hand, the state government’s experiment to part the posts of Chairman and Managing Director in Vidyut Prasaran Nigam is not yielding any fruits even though 1993 batch ACS level senior IAS Alok has been appointed as Chairman while his twentyyear junior -2013 batch IAS Nathmal Didel - has been appointed as MD.

This long twenty-year gap is not considered practical in work-related aspects.

Furthermore, the Department of Personnel has given the additional charge of Renewable Energy Corporation to Didel and it is a tough task for Didel to handle these two posts simultaneously.