Chennai, Sep 26 (PTTI) PMK president Dr Anbumani Ramadoss on Saturday strongly condemned the TNPDCL’s decision to outsource electricity meter reading to private agencies, calling the move a violation of social justice.
In a statement, Anbumani criticised the September 24 circular issued by Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL) revenue wing to regional engineers and offices to engage private contractors and contract workers for electricity meter reading for the next six months to address staff shortages and delayed billings.
“Public complaints regarding excessive electricity charges stem directly from delayed meter readings caused by a shortage of field staff,” the PMK leader said.
“Permanent solution is to recruit staff for the vacant posts, not to hand over core operations to private vendors,” he added.
Highlighting the extent of vacancies, Ramadoss noted that, out of 7,590 meter reader positions in the state power utility, 5,602 (73.81 per cent) remain vacant.
“When combined with vacant positions in the revenue section and meter inspection cadres, over 8,000 posts remain unfilled across Tamil Nadu,” he said.
Claiming that contract staff receive less than one-third of a permanent employee’s salary, with a significant amount going to manpower agencies, the PMK leader said, “Contractual hiring circumvents statutory reservations, denying job opportunities to youth from Backward Classes (BC), Most Backward Classes (MBC), Scheduled Castes (SC), and Scheduled Tribes (ST).
“Contract workers cannot be held strictly accountable for billing errors, which could exacerbate consumer grievances rather than resolve them,” he added.
Dismissing TNPDCL’s claim that outsourcing is a temporary six-month arrangement, he argued that such contracts are routinely extended for years.
He called on the Tamil Nadu government to revoke the circular immediately and initiate steps to fill all vacant meter reader and revenue wing positions with permanent staff through transparent recruitment within three months.
(PTI News)
