Chandigarh: Congress MLA Aditya Surjewala on Tuesday trained his guns on the BJP govt over the 26-day strike by sanitation and sewer workers and the proposed parallel power distribution licence for Gurgaon and Nuh, accusing the Nayab Singh Saini dispensation of reneging on its commitments and paving the way for “backdoor privatisation”.Raising the sanitation workers’ issue during Zero Hour, Surjewala said cities across Haryana had turned into “heaps of garbage” as workers continued their strike for the 26th day. He claimed govt had agreed in writing on May 13 to 17 demands of the workers, but alleged that not a single demand had been implemented.Surjewala also questioned the non-implementation of the CM’s announced Rs 2,100 increase in workers’ remuneration. He said sanitation and sewer workers routinely handled garbage and entered toxic sewers without adequate safety equipment, while being denied cashless medical facilities, risk allowance and insurance.He also raised the cases of workers who died in the line of duty, saying the families of Ranbir and Bhavi Chand were still awaiting permanent jobs and compensation. The legislator alleged that FIRs had been registered against workers during protests and that cases dating to 2018 and 2022, which govt had agreed to withdraw, remained pending.Surjewala further claimed more than 5,000 workers in Gurgaon, Kaithal, Jind and Sirsa faced retrenchment. Calling sanitation workers the “backbone” of cities, he demanded implementation of the agreement, withdrawal of cases, and an end to the contractual system.Privatisation push?Turning to the proposed parallel electricity distribution licence in Gurgaon and Nuh, Surjewala alleged that the move was an attempt to privatise the power sector “through the back door”.He told the House that the company seeking the licence was only a year old, had no experience in power distribution, and had a paid-up capital of Rs 1 crore, while the proposed project involved Rs 4,717 crore.He questioned how such a company could be entrusted with a major power distribution operation.Surjewala alleged that the proposed private distributor would primarily cater to malls, large industries and housing societies, while villages, tubewells and small consumers could be left outside its profitable network. He termed this a violation of the universal supply obligation under the Electricity Act.He emphasised that Gurgaon alone accounted for around 40% of the revenue of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN). Any erosion of this revenue base, he said, could affect new tubewell connections, replacement of transformers in villages, and subsidies for farmers and poorer consumers.The Kaithal MLA alleged the proposed licence could eventually be used to push the DHBVN into losses and create a case for its sale. He also warned of the impact on govt jobs and demanded immediate cancellation of the proposed licence.
