Chandigarh/Ropar, March 16: Harish Sharma, the Chief Engineer overseeing the Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant at Ropar, has been reinstated by the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) management. The revocation of his suspension was finalized during a board meeting on March 16, where directors decided to allow the officer to resume his duties immediately. The management asserted that the resolution was passed after examining a detailed report regarding the operational costs and the officer’s professional history.
The initial move to suspend Sharma under the Punishment and Appeal Regulation, 1971, was linked to allegations of financial losses due to higher power generation costs at the Ropar and Goindwal Sahib plants. While the corporation had cited costs ranging from Rs 0.75 to Rs 1.25 per unit higher than private plants, the PSEB Engineers Association declared the move as arbitrary. They maintained that no formal charges were framed or explanations sought during the entire four-month period.
The Engineers Association has welcomed the unconditional revocation, stating that it demonstrates the initial allegations lacked proper substance. Representatives of the association asserted that the Punjab Government’s handling of the matter was casual and had caused unnecessary distress to a senior officer nearing retirement. They further declared that the technical differences between thermal plants make direct cost comparisons between Ropar and private supercritical plants fundamentally flawed.
