The All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to put on hold the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
The move comes days after power and renewable energy minister RK Singh expressed confidence that the Bill will be sent for Cabinet approval after it is pushed for passage in the monsoon session of Parliament this month.
Shailendra Dubey, chairman of AIPEF, wrote to the Prime Minister that the Bill should not be placed before Parliament before holding talks with stakeholders.
“AIPEF wants at least six months’ time from the central government for discussion on comments and suggestions by all the stakeholders, particularly electricity employees and consumers … after putting the draft in the public domain,” Dubey said in a statement.
Since electricity is a concurrent subject, amending the Electricity Act, 2003, by excluding significant stakeholders from states would run contrary to the Constitution itself, he said.