Mir Farhat
Srinagar, Oct 9: The Government today made it clear that it was not possible to regularise the daily wagers, Hospital Development Fund (HDF) and National Youth Corps (NYC) workers engaged in various departments from time to time as it (regularising them) involves huge financial, legal and administrative implications.
While replying to a question of People’s Democratic Party member Naeem Akhtar and supplementaries by others members in the Upper House on regularising daily wagers, HDF, and NYC workers, Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather said: “It is not possible for the Government to regularise them as per the provisions of SRO 64 of 1994, which makes it clear not to regularise or engage any daily wager in any department.”
The Minister said cases of 58,000 daily wagers were pursued by a Cabinet Sub-Committee constituted in 2009 vide Government No. 345-GAD, which after examining the magnitude of the problems regularised 56,000 daily wagers and about the remaining 2000, the committee sought their information from the different departments which had engaged them.
“Since there is no clear information about these 2000 daily wagers on who engaged them, no decision will be given by the committee. The committee has served a final notice to those departments which do not give clear information about them,” Rather said.
Rather admitted that daily wagers and consolidated workers have been engaged illegally in different departments by officials and even by retired officials against SRO 64 provisions.
Without naming Javed Mustafa Mir, Rather said an MLA from Chadoora had written to a Chief Engineer to engage 100 casual labourers.
He said that four departments were allowed to engage workers on need basis.
After the Minister’s reply, there was a commotion in the House as members shouted from their seats that the Government was not clear on the issue.
Naeem Akhtar raked up the issue of NYC saying that Government has left 8,000 youth in quandary after engaging them in 2010 “as part of anger management”.
“Why does the Government give contradictory responses to NYC volunteers? Come up with a clear answer,” Akhtar asked the Finance Minister.
Rather replied NYC volunteers were engaged through a scheme of Government of India for two years and the volunteers themselves laid down in writing that they would not claim for regularization after the two-year period ends, which ended in December 2012.
“We took up their issue with Government of India. But, GoI said it is not possible to regularise them. They said ‘don’t continue them instead provide them skill development training’,” Rather said.
National Conference member Khalid Najeeb Suharwardy castigated the Government for violating their own framed laws on appointments.
“Since you (Ministers) engage youth in different departments and create trouble for us. You are yourself violating laws,” Suharwardy said pointing toward the treasury benches where Rather was seated.
Akhter had also sought a written reply from the Government on continuing services of HDF workers.
Rather said “No one should be engaged on HDF because it (HDF) is meant to be spent on development of a hospital. But, it has become a culture in Jammu and Kashmir to engage workers by violating laws.”
Rather said it is not possible to regularise these workers because it is not clear on which post they have been engaged as there is no Government procedure to engage anyone on HDF.
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