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| Amid Covid-19 scare, driver engaged in FCS&CA denied salary since 24 months | | Despite lockdown, Omdutt attends Jammu office after covering 56 kms daily | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, May 7: At a time when second wave of Covid-19 has created havoc and majority of the people have been trying their best to restrict outdoor movement, a driver engaged in the Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) has been regularly covering over 56 kilometres of distance braving all odds, to mark his attendance so that he would get his salary, which has been denied since April 2019 by the department.
Though the driver had got a stay in his favour, against the order of the Department which had stopped his salary but despite that some personal grudges of few senior officers resulted in denial of his salary. Despite personal appeals before Lieutenant Governor Grievance Cell, Advisor to LG as well as Secretary of the Department failed to ensure release of his salary.
Omdutt son of Mohan Lal, a resident of Pangiri of tehsil Akhnoor, was engaged as driver on need basis vide order number ADCA&PD/K/1146-47 dated 17/11/2011 by the then Assistant Director CAPD Kathua. After serving for three years, Omdutt was transferred and deployed to the office of Assistant Director (Trade and Stores) CAPD vide order number DCAPDJ/2003/Drivers 1468-71/G dated 26/4/2014, issued by the then Director FCS&CA. Later he was deployed with Joint Director Admin vide order number 166-DFCS&CAJ of 2018 dated 19/7/2018.
During this period Omdutt had been getting regular remuneration from the department but in the meantime, the General Administration Department (GAD) issued a circular no. 30-GAD of 2019 dated 24/5/2019, regarding the engagement of consolidate workers. In view of that circular of GAD, the FCS&CAJ issued U.O no. PS/JD/FCS&CA/2019-20/37-38 dated 2/09/2019 and the concerned person maintaining the Biometric Attendance in the Machine was directed to delete Omdutt’s name from the BAS machine, Omdutt maintains.
He further said that the GAD Circular was unambiguously clear regarding the casual/seasonal workers engaged after 17/3/2015.
“The para (3) sub-clause(ii) of Circular number 30-GAD of 2019 dated 24/5/2019 maintains, “Any person engaged as casual/season/need basis worker after imposition of ban on such engagements (i.e on or after 17/3/2015) without specific approval of competent authority or without following due procedure shall also cease to continue forthwith.
“The provision of that circular was not applicable to me but despite that department denied me salary as well as not allowed to mark the Biometric attendance for sometime but later I was allowed to mark biometric attendance”, Omdutt said, adding that since then he has been marking the attendance and attending the office regularly without any absent.
He further said that he had also secured a stay from High Court, in writ petition number 2736/2019 CMP no. 5596/2019, directing the Department to maintain status quo with regard to the services but the department had refused to release the wages with effect from 1/5/2019.
“In view of High Court’s order, when I appealed the Director to release the salary, the Director inadvertently forwarded my application to Chief Account Officer (CAO), who again sought legal opinion only to waste my time and delay the salary”, Omdutt said, adding that the department officials were aware that due to Covid-19 lockdown, the Central Administrative Tribunal was not listening the pleas. The last date in CAT’s bench was in February but it was again extended to 6th of August but due to Covid-19 restrictions there was least possibilities of any hearing as well as release of my salary”, Omdutt said.
Father of two children Omdutt has his parents to feed as well as his four sisters but without salary for the last over two years, the department has forced Omdutt and his family on verge of starvation. Apart from attending regular office, he has been doing some menial jobs during off hours to make both ends meet.
Joint Director FCS&CA Shagun Sharma, who also holds the charge of Director, said that she would look into the matter and take appropriate action. |
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