PSPCL director sacked over ‘high fuel costs’ at state-run thermal plants
The action comes shortly after the suspension of chief engineer Harish Sharma, who was incharge of the Ropar and Goindwal Sahib thermal plants, on similar charges of irregularities in fuel procurement and costs.
Days after removing senior IAS officer AK Sinha from the post of chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) and appointing Basant Garg, a 2005-batch IAS officer in his place, the Punjab government on Monday terminated the services of director (power generation), PSPCL, Harjit Singh, citing alleged misappropriation of funds that reportedly led to inflated fuel costs at state-run thermal power plants.
The action comes shortly after the suspension of chief engineer Harish Sharma, who was incharge of the Ropar and Goindwal Sahib thermal plants, on similar charges of irregularities in fuel procurement and costs.
According to the termination order, fuel costs at Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant (Ropar) and Guru Amardas Thermal Power Plant (Goindwal Sahib) were ₹0.75 to ₹1.25 per unit higher than private thermal plants, despite both facilities sourcing coal from PSPCL’s own Pachhwara coal mine in Jharkhand.
The Pachwara Central Coal Mine (Pachhwara central coal block), located in the Pakur District of Jharkhand, was allocated to the PSPCL in 2001. It was intended to provide a cost-effective source of coal for PSPCL’s power plants, and after significant legal and operational delays, it resumed operations in 2022, with PSPCL estimating it saves approximately ₹1,000 crore annually compared to purchasing coal from Coal India Limited.
The termination order further stated that high fuel costs led to losses of crores of rupees, pointing to misappropriation in fuel procurement. Harjit Singh’s actions were described as “grave misconduct”, and under service rules, allowed for termination without notice.
Officials familiar with the development said that Singh had differences with the government over proposed liquidation of PSPCL assets and new power purchase agreements (PPAs). He had been appointed director (generation) in October last year.
Both the termination of Harjit Singh and the suspension of Harish Sharma were ordered by Basant Garg, the newly appointed administrative secretary, power department, and chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of PSPCL and PSTCL. Garg took charge last week after the government removed Ajoy Kumar Sinha, a 1996-batch IAS officer, from the posts of secretary (power) and CMD of PSPCL. Sinha has not been given any new posting since his transfer, reportedly following policy disagreements with power and industries minister Sanjeev Arora.
The decision has drawn sharp criticism from the PSEB Engineers’ Association, which questioned both the suspension and termination. Jasvir Singh Dhiman, president of the association, defended Harjit Singh’s integrity, stating: “There is no doubt about his honesty. The grounds cited for his dismissal are not technically justified. If such a thing can happen to an honest officer, it will demoralise the entire engineering cadre.”
A senior PSPCL official added that the higher fuel costs were due to older, less efficient state-run plants and lower plant load factors, compared to newer private thermal stations, calling the government’s comparison “technically flawed.”
Another engineer said: “Under which capacity is the minister holding meetings for power purchase and other important issues, when PSPCL has set up special committees of chief engineers for every such initiative? We have called the PSEBEA to bite the bullet to save PSPCL.”
