Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 6: The one- day salary deducted by the Agro Industries Corporation, a State Government Undertaking from its employees in the month of November 2005 for the relief fund of earth quake victims has not been deposited in the Government treasury by the Corporation even after the lapse of over eight years.
The citizens of entire nation contributed in the relief fund for the earth quake victims of Uri in Baramulla district, some areas of Kupwara and Poonch districts of the State which were shook by a major earthquake in November 2005 causing a lot of devastation. The State Government also issued necessary instructions to its employees to donate one day’s salary for the relief fund for rehabilitation of the quake hit people of the State and 400 employees of the Agro Industries also contributed their one day’s salary to this fund. But the Corporation has failed to deposit the said amount in the Government treasury so far.
This was stated in a written reply to two of the retired employees who filed an RTI application before the Public Information Officer (PIO) of the Corporation recently.
The retired employees who came to know from certain sources that the one day salary of 400 employees of the Corporation has not been deposited in the Government treasury as per procedure and this amount was utilized for day to day expenditure of the Corporation filed an RTI application.
The communication received through RTI by the retired employees confirmed that the said amount has not been deposited with the Government treasury till date and was lying with Corporation.
This grave negligence by the Corporation management has been viewed seriously by the various trade union organizations as well as its retired employees. They have also questioned the purpose of deducting the salary when the same has not been deposited in the Government treasury for the benefit of the quake victims.
However when contacted the Managing Director of the Corporation, Abdul Majid Bhat said that the financial position of the Corporation was very bad and it was on the verge of closure with the result the money could not be deposited in the treasury. The financial position of the Corporation was so bad that it did not have even funds to pay salaries to its employees, he added.
Mr Bhat said “four years back the Corporation was on the brink of closure and by our hard efforts it has been now brought back on rails by brining new projects for it’’. He however, said after the financial position of the Corporation stabilizes the management is thinking to refund the amount to the employees as the purpose for which it was collected has not been now served and the quake victims have been rehabilitated since then.
The MD said he will convene a meeting of Board of Directors of the Corporation soon to take a decision in this regard.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel