Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister R Nirmal Kumar announced that the state’s electricity board will recruit at least 15,000 permanent employees this year to address a manpower shortage of nearly 70,000 personnel.
| Photo Credit:
RAGU R/THE HINDU
Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister R Nirmal Kumar on Monday announced that the state’s electricity board will recruit at least 15,000 permanent employees this year to address severe manpower shortages in the power apparatus.
The Minister also revealed that a newly formulated three-committee tender policy has been implemented across all departments to curb rampant institutional corruption, a move estimated to save the state exchequer 35 per cent in procurement costs.
Addressing a press conference here, Kumar stated that the electricity department is currently grappling with a massive shortage of 70,000 personnel.
“We are in dire need of manpower. As a first step, we are preparing a proposal to recruit at least 15,000 permanent employees this year. This has been initiated under the directives of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay. There will be no temporary or contractual appointments for these positions,” Kumar said, adding that a decision regarding the pending recruitment of 5,500 ‘Gangmen’ will also be announced within a few weeks after consulting the chief minister.
TNEB’s Gangman is primarily tasked with assisting linemen, digging pole pits, clearing vegetation, transporting equipment, and general physical upkeep of the local electrical infrastructure.
Promotion backlog cleared after years of delay
Highlighting the resolution of long-pending administrative issues, the minister noted that the government recently cleared promotions for 300 Assistant Engineers to Executive Engineers, a backlog that had been languishing for over 15 years due to protracted legal battles.
He questioned why employees were forced to approach courts for their rightful promotions under the previous regime and assured that all remaining promotional backlogs across various cadres — including the 2012 batch comprising over 700 personnel — are being cleared rapidly based on recent court guidelines.
New tender policy aimed at curbing corruption
Unveiling radical policy changes to check financial irregularities, Kumar claimed that the restructuring of the tender estimation policy has already plugged massive leakages.
“In the past, buffer margins of 30 to 35 per cent were deliberately built into tenders, leading to severe financial losses. For instance, in a single tender worth Rs 1,500 crore, irregularities and corruption worth Rs 397 crore were detected. Similarly, transformers worth Rs 8 lakh were routinely estimated at Rs 13 lakh,” the minister alleged.
To eliminate this, the government has cancelled older non-transparent tenders and institutionalised a mandate where three separate technical committees will independently evaluate market values and manufacturer rates before floating any new tender. Kumar added that a transparent, web-based application portal for solar power connectivity will be launched within days to eliminate middlemen and brokers who previously pocketed illicit commissions.
When asked about accountability for past financial discrepancies, Kumar stated that cases have already been registered with the CBI and multiple matters have been referred to the Vigilance department. On the alleged “missing coal” case raised during the transition of power, he stated that a comprehensive stock valuation across all departments is underway, and a clear picture will emerge in a few weeks.
No power shortage, outages linked to ageing infrastructure
Responding to queries regarding recent power outages and complaints of low voltage in Chennai amid intense summer heat, the minister clarified that Tamil Nadu does not suffer from a power shortage. “We actually have surplus power and are actively selling it to the central grid, generating additional revenue. The local disruptions are strictly due to equipment failure,” Kumar explained.
He revealed that over 60 to 70 per cent of the state’s 4.5 lakh transformers are more than 20 years old and struggle to handle heavy loads. “Special field teams have been deployed across the city to repair faults, with most issues being rectified within 40 minutes,” he said.
Conspiracy angle alleged in localised disruptions
The minister also disclosed a conspiracy angle behind certain localised power disruptions, stating that CCTV footage from some areas showed miscreants deliberately pulling out fuses and stealing equipment to repeatedly disrupt power supply.
“We have instructed officials to lodge formal police complaints, and we will release the CCTV footage to the public shortly,” he said.
Discom rescued from financial crisis, says minister
Lashing out at the previous administration, Kumar stated that the state’s power discom was left in a precarious financial condition. “The department was managed so poorly that if the debt had crossed Rs 3.5 lakh crore to Rs 4 lakh crore, the state would have been forced to privatise 50 to 60 per cent of its stakes and walk away. Our government stepped in at the right time to prevent that catastrophe,” he said.
Published on June 8, 2026
