Haryana is headed for a major confrontation in the power sector, with electricity employees launching a three-day strike against the grant of a parallel distribution licence to a private company in Gurugram and Nuh, even as the state government has decided to challenge the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) order before the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL).The Haryana Electricity Employees and Engineers Joint Struggle Front said the strike has begun at 10 pm on Wednesday.Ahead of the agitation, employees burnt copies of the licence order and staged demonstrations at sub-divisional offices across Haryana.The employees are opposing HERC’s October 19 decision granting a parallel electricity distribution licence for Gurugram and Nuh.The Joint Struggle Front maintains that the move threatens the public-sector electricity distribution system and could affect the interests of farmers, economically weaker consumers and electricity employees.Electricity complaint centres and sub-divisional, divisional and circle offices are expected to remain closed during the three-day agitation, affecting routine operations. The employees have, however, assured that power supply to hospitals would not be disrupted.The agitation has also drawn the support of national organisations representing power-sector employees and engineers.Electricity Employees Federation of India (EEFI) national general secretary Sudeep Dutta, its national vice-president Subhash Lamba, and All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) chairman Shailendra Dubey backed the Haryana employees’ protest.They warned the state government and power corporation management that punitive or repressive action against the striking employees could invite a united response from electricity employees across the country.Lamba said the regulatory commission’s decision, despite objections from employees, farmers’ organisations, workers’ unions, consumer groups and opposition parties, had pushed the state towards a major industrial confrontation.Joint Struggle Front leaders Devender Singh Hooda and Ravinder Ghanghas said the employees had repeatedly approached the government through letters and reminders seeking talks to resolve the issue.Govt sides with employees, to challenge orderIn a significant development amid the confrontation, the Haryana government has itself come out against HERC’s decision.Chief Minister Nayab aini said the state government stands firmly with power employees and will strongly represent their case before the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) against HERC’s decision to grant a private company a licence to supply electricity in Gurugram and Nuh.He said the Government is ready to engage lawyers trusted by the power unions to pursue the case. Reiterating that the Government’s doors are always open for dialogue, he appealed to the unions to defer their strike in the public interest.The CM chaired a key review meeting with Administrative Secretaries at the Haryana Civil Secretariat on Wednesday to assess arrangements for the three-day statewide strike.Energy Minister Anil Vij said the government would challenge the grant of distribution licences for Gurugram and Nuh before APTEL and would also seek a stay on the order. He said the appeal would be filed within five to six days, even though the prescribed period for doing so is 45 days.Seeking to distance the government from the decision, Vij said HERC is an autonomous regulatory body constituted under the central electricity law. He maintained that the Haryana government had neither invited applications nor sought proposals for privatisation.According to the minister, the statutory framework permits an eligible party to approach HERC for a distribution licence, but the state government had opposed the application and did not agree with the regulator’s eventual decision.“The department has worked diligently on this matter. We engaged competent lawyers and presented our opposition firmly before the Commission. Now that HERC has ruled against the government’s position, we will approach APTEL and file an appeal,” Vij said.He said he had directed the department to file the appeal within five or six days and that the government would simultaneously make efforts to secure a stay against implementation of the HERC order.‘Will fight till Supreme Court’The state government indicated that it was prepared for a prolonged legal battle if it failed to get relief from APTEL.“We will first contest the matter before APTEL and, if necessary, take it to the Supreme Court. We stand firmly with the electricity employees and will continue this legal battle to the very end,” Vij said.The minister said representatives of some unions had already met him. He told them that they could suggest an alternative course or engage their own lawyer, but suggested it would be better for the union leadership and the government’s lawyers to work together in preparing the case.Vij also sought to persuade the employees to reconsider their agitation in view of the government’s decision to appeal. His argument was that a strike would have had grounds if the government were refusing to challenge the decision, whereas the government had opposed it and was now taking the matter to APTEL.He said the CM had also been apprised of the situation and of the legal steps the government proposed to take.The developments have, therefore, created an unusual situation in which the employees and the state government are both opposed to the regulatory decision, but the employees are nevertheless going ahead with their three-day agitation.Hospitals prepare for strikeWith the strike scheduled from October 22 to 24, the Haryana Health Department has simultaneously moved to insulate hospitals and essential health care operations from any power-related disruption.All Civil Surgeons and Principal Medical Officers have been directed to ensure uninterrupted functioning of health institutions, particularly emergency and critical-care services.Hospitals have been told to keep adequate generator sets available during the strike period and hire additional generators wherever necessary. Electricians are to remain available round the clock at their respective headquarters to deal with electricity-related emergencies.Each health institution has also been asked to designate a nodal officer for coordination and communicate the officer’s name, designation and mobile number to the authorities.Special emphasis has been placed on maintaining the cold chain to protect vaccines and other temperature-sensitive medical supplies. Generator backup is to be kept ready to prevent interruptions that could affect cold-chain maintenance.Private hospitals are also to be contacted for coordination and advised to make adequate generator arrangements in case of an emergency.Adequate securityDirector General of Police Ajay Singhal said that adequate security measures had been put in place for the strike. A total of 6,230 police personnel had been deployed at 1,015 locations across all districts. Police would take prompt action on complaints received on the number 1501. He said that police control rooms and helpline numbers had also been established in all districts and security arrangements were being reviewed continuously. All police officers had been directed to ensure foolproof security arrangements during the strike.