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| J&K breaches Planning Commission rider; throws politically loaded employment salvo | | Cash starved State's fresh 80,000 Govt jobs | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
JAMMU, Jan 11: In complete breach of stringent directives of Planning Commission of India (PCI) to cut down wage bill, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has announced 80,000 jobs for around 6 lakh unemployed youth.
Seen largely as attempt to woo young voters of Jammu and Kashmir, 80,000 jobs announcement is likely to invite wrath of Planning Commission, which has repeatedly asked the State to reduce annual wage bill of employees. A special committee has been constituted to oversee the process of employment and ensure that the jobs are given to the 80, 000 unemployed youth in the next two years.
This seemingly political development comes within few months of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah telling Government employees not to force Government for releasing arrears in one go, removing pay anomalies and increasing the retirement age on the plea that State was facing serious cash crunch. Besides, Chief Minister has gone on record to state that State was bearing a heavy burden of paying salaries amounting to Rs. 11,500 crore annually.
He has often asked the youngsters not to long for Government jobs and instead, focus on finding employment in the private sector. Chief Minister as well as his coterie of Ministers have gone on record telling youngsters not to waste energies on Government jobs because they are neither available nor would be available in future. Instead, self-employment is the best way out, young and desirous are told.
Given an opportunity, Government leaves no space in telling one and all that J&K's total annual income is Rs 6500 crores while Government pays Rs 11500 crores as salaries to employees and Rs 2500 crores as pension to retired employees. They further maintain that despite huge financial constraints, salaries of Government employees have been enhanced from Rs 6000 crores in 2008 to Rs 11500 crores at present.
Besides, Rs 450 crores of arrears and additional DA installments have been provided to Government employees. In this gloomy scenario, Government's announcement of providing 80,000 jobs to the unemployed youth has raised eye-brows over Government's ability to deliver what it has promised. Questions are being asked over the funding pattern for these new 80,000 jobs. It is being widely seen as a political move aimed at bridging governance and financial deficit of the last four years.
Not only this, some have begun saying that it is an attempt to bribe voters of Jammu and Kashmir before the impending Assembly elections. They maintain that National Conference (NC) led Government is repeating the antics of 2002. "They over-burdened State exchequer by employing people far higher than the number required for keeping the administrative set-up functional. They are doing the same now. They would leave with huge number of youngsters looking at the wall for salaries," said an employee of GAD.
Employee leaders have also begun questioning wisdom of Government in keeping them aggrieved while employing thousands of youngsters afresh on posts where they would be paid salary less than what a labourer earns per month. "We are not against anyone. But I would not like my child to wait for five years for getting a salary which would be of no consequence five years from now. This is worst kind of exploitation," said the leader.
"At the moment we are solely dependent upon the Central Government to meet our wage and power expenditure bills, but there is a limit on the charity shown by the Centre. These 80,000 new employees would lead to serious financial crisis. We would be forced to seek additional money from Centre for paying wages", said source in the Planning Department.
The source said that with the expenditure on the wages and other benefits reaching the highest ever in the State, Planning Commission has expressed its reservations over the huge burden on the State's annual plan. They have pointed out that expenditure on meeting the monthly wages of nearly 5 lakh Government employees is much higher than the more populated States of the country. |
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