CIC operators write to ACS Finance, seek regularization; salary hike

Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Mar 10: The Community Information Centre (CIC) Operators who are working in the Rural Development Department & Panchayati Raj today urged the Government to consider their long-pending issue of regularization as well as the increase in their monthly salary.
In this regard, the CIC operators have shot a letter to the Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department Atal Dulloo who is also the Chairman of Sub-Committee which is dealing with the issue of the regularization of CIC operators along with other workers as well.
The letter said that in the year 2014, J&K Government passed an order in Cabinet to formulate a proposal for the regularizations of CIC Operators in the Rural Development Department.
“In the year 2016, J&K Government through a cabinet decision created 172 posts of Data Entry Operators for regularization of CIC Operators vide Govt. Order No. 320-RD & PR of 2016 dated 14.12.2016,” it said.
The CIC operators said that in the year 2017, the Empowered Committee of J&K Government headed by Principle Secretary, Department of Finance cleared our regularization cases one by one for regularization under J&K Civil Services (Special Provision) Act 2010 and also communicated their recommendations to Rural Development Department for issuance of formal regularization order, which is yet to be issued.
It is to be noted here that the meeting of the Sub-Committee constituted by the Governments going to be held under the Chairmanship of the Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department on March 11 (Friday); while as the CIC operators have urged the administration to consider their issues.
Apart from the issue of regularization, the CIC operators are also demanding an increase in their salaries. “We are getting a meagre amount of Rs 10,000/= as monthly salary, due to which we are facing a lot of hardships to feed our families and to provide better education to our children,” they said.
They said that the Data Entry Operators working in other departments like SSA (Education) are presently getting Rs 34800/= per month as their monthly honorarium/remuneration has been enhanced from time to time since their appointment.
They said that they are handling efficiently all the online work on several web portals on daily basis in the Department of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj and are also doing all other office assignments viz. Elections, Establishment, Accounts, Works etc. at Block/ District/ Directorate/ Secretariat level.
In a letter which they have written, they have stated that their regularization file has got legal opinion for regularization from Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Department J&K and also got consent from Advocate General of J&K for regularization of 172 CIC Operators as Data Entry Operators.
“We have submitted a representation in the Rural Development Department for enhancement of Salary/Honorarium as an interim relief till our regularization issue is settled. Accordingly, our department submitted a proposal to Finance Department for enhancement of Salary/Honorarium in our favour.”
They demanded that their long-pending and genuine issues of regularization and salary enhancement issues for which time to time all the codal formalities have been completed by the Government should be fulfilled.