Employees deprived of salaries up to 45 months: AADAEJC

A CORRESPONDENT

JAGIROAD: The Development Authorities in Assam constituted by the Town and Country Planning Department, Government of Assam, have been facing an acute financial crisis following the non-allotment of grants-in-aid for the last couple of years. As its fallout, many employees have not got their salaries. Informing this to The Sentinel, the president and the secretary of the All Assam Development Authority Employees’ Joint Council (AADAEJC), Banikanta Boruah and Ratul Bora respectively have alleged, “There are instances of salaries pending for even two to three years at a stretch.”

The AADAEJC has now urged Minister Pijush Hazarika, who has taken the charge of Urban Development (Town and Country Planning), to look into the matter and take adequate steps for releasing funds to the Development Authorities and also for provincialisation the services of the employees as well as publish the service rule of the employees.

The Government of Assam has so far constituted 24 Development Authorities across the State for the implementation of master plans and zoning regulations. At present, 250 employees in different categories are rendering services in the Development Authorities across the State. These employees, in addition to their normal duties, are also engaged in duties related to election and PMAY among others, pointed out the AADAEJC leaders.

According to the information given by the AADAEJC, the data of 19 Development Authorities along with the duration of the salary non-payment period is as follows: North Lakhimpur: 45 months, Dergaon: 35 months, Goalpara: 30 months, Dibrugarh and Sivasagar: 28 months each, Nazira-Simaluguri: 27 months, Sonari: 26 months, Barpeta: 25 months, Dhubri-Gauripur: 22 months, Jagiroad 20 months, Dhemaji: nine months, Karimganj: eight months, Jorhat: seven months, Silchar and Golaghat: five months each, Nagaon: four months, Kokrajhar: three months, and Tezpur two months, and Nalbari: one month.

The Development Authorities receive fees for issuing the ‘No Objection Certificates’ (NOCs) for construction of buildings and land sales within the master plan areas. However, the fees collected against the NOCs issued are not at all sufficient to cater to the needs of the Authorities; and as such the State Government allots funds for implementation of the master plans and zoning regulations for each Authority. They also said that after implementation of the Constitution 74th amendment Act, the area of operation of the Development Authorities has been severely reduced as the major revenue collection areas have been transferred to the municipality or town committee concerned.

The AADAEJC leaders further stated that though the organization has been in touch with the UDD Minister, Commissioner, Secretary and the Director of Town and Country Planning Department since 1993, no concrete step was taken so far for redressal of their grievances. The leaders also said that a delegation of the AADAEJC had recently called on Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at the latter’s chamber in the Assam Secretariat and the Chief Minister forwarded the matter to the then UDD (T&CP) Minister Atul Bora. But the Minister allegedly did not take the matter seriously.

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