Joint Action Committee of Power Employees, Engineers and Pensioners holds zonal protest in Amritsar
Babushahi Bureau
Amritsar (Punjab), January 2, 2026:On the call of the Joint Action Committee of power sector employees, engineers and pensioners, the first zonal protest dharna was held on Friday in front of the Border Zone Office of PSPCL in Amritsar.
A large number of power employees, engineers, pensioners and representatives of farmers’ unions participated in the protest.
The agitation was organised against the proposed sale of Powercom’s land and properties, the Electricity Amendment Bill 2025, and in support of the demand to set up two supercritical 800 MW thermal units at the Ropar thermal plant under the state sector.
This protest marked a first-of-its-kind joint agitation in which power sector employees, engineers, pensioners and farmers’ unions came together on a common platform.
Addressing the gathering, leaders from various employees’ and engineers’ organisations, including Er. Ajaypal Singh Atwal, General Secretary of the Engineers’ Association and Secretary of the Joint Action Committee; JE Council leaders Er. Parmjeet Singh Khattra, State President; Er. Davinder Singh, Senior Vice President; Er. Iqbal Singh, Zonal President; and Er. Vimal Kumar, Zonal Secretary; TSU representatives Er. Kuldeep Singh Udhoke and Er. Harpreet Singh; and Pensioners’ Association leader Er. Kuldeep Singh Khanna, strongly criticised the state government’s policies. Leaders from farmers’ unions also addressed the protestors.
The Joint Action Committee leadership alleged that the Punjab government is planning to sell Powercom-owned land in various cities under the pretext of monetisation.
They argued that in view of the rising electricity demand and ongoing development projects in the state, these lands could be utilised in the future for setting up new substations, field offices and stores to improve electricity services. The committee demanded an immediate halt to the sale process and the formulation of a proper plan to utilise these properties in the public interest.
The leadership further stated that to meet Punjab’s growing power demand and to make the state self-reliant in electricity generation, the central government has approved the setting up of two new 800 MW supercritical thermal units at Ropar. However, they alleged that the state government has not taken concrete steps to implement the project and demanded immediate action to enhance the state’s generation capacity.
Raising concerns over the Electricity Amendment Bill 2025, the Joint Action Committee said that if the Bill is passed, the electricity distribution sector would be opened to private companies, allowing them to use public sector infrastructure. This, they claimed, would restrict the role of state governments and increase central government control over the state power sector.
The committee urged the Punjab government to submit its objections to the Centre without delay and, if possible, pass a resolution against the Bill in the State Legislative Assembly.
As per the announced protest programme, zonal dharnas will be held on January 6 in Bathinda, January 9 in Patiala, January 15 in Ludhiana and January 20 in Jalandhar in front of the respective zonal offices of PSPCL.
The Joint Action Committee appealed to the Punjab government to reverse what it termed as anti–power sector decisions to maintain industrial peace in the department and ensure improved electricity supply while achieving the target of zero power outages in the state.