Srinagar, June 11: While expressing serious concern over the non-payment of salaries and wages to employees, scheme workers and casual labourers working in different government departments, CPI-M leader and MLA Kulgam Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami on Monday asked the authorities to release the pending salaries of SSA teachers and wages of daily wagers, casual workers, NREGA workers, contractual, scheme workers Anganwadi workers, helpers, ASHAs, CPWs and Mid-Day Meal workers before Eid.
The spokesman said that thousands of teachers recruited under centrally sponsored Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme are without their salaries for the months together. The teachers and their families are going through tough times given the delay in payment of salaries. They are subjected to mental torture for no fault of theirs.
Now when the SSA teachers are protesting, the State Government says that it will take up the issue with the Union Human Resources Development ministry. Why didn’t the government take up this issue with the Center earlier? The PDP is in alliance with the BJP in the state and also supports them at the Center. It should not have been a problem for the State Government to convince the Center to release the funds for the salaries of SSA teachers if they had pursued the case properly and in time.
He also criticized the State Government for neglecting daily wagers, casual workers, NREGA workers, contractual employees, scheme workers Anganwadi workers, helper, ASHAs, CPWs and Mid-Day Meal workers, who have not been paid their wages for months together.
The weaker and poorer sections of the society have been totally neglected by the government which has severely hit their means of livelihood. The welfare schemes for old aged, destitute and other weaker sections are virtually defunct. Same is the situation with casual labourers working in different departments. There was a lot of noise on the regularization of casual labourers, but now they are even denied the wages.
Even the issue of regularization of casual labourers was discussed in the Assembly, but till date, nothing has been done on the ground. The NERGA workers are without wages, widows, old aged and destitute are moving from pillar to post to get their pension, but nobody is listening to their woes. These people work with dedication but they have been pushed to the wall and the state government seems to be insensitive towards their well-being.
The Government must release the salaries and pending wages of its employees and workers before Eid festival.
