Five cash-starved autonomous council staff die

'Benudhar Pait, a Mising Autonomous Council (MAC) employee, lost his mental balance and then died after the long spell of nonpayment of salaries. Some other members of the MAC like Supply Doley, Manik Pegu, Shishuram Payeng and Nityanda Kaman have also died for not getting their salaries for a long time. Instead of thinking something positive for us, the government is now planning to axe us.' - Coordition Committee of Secretariat Employees' Union of Autonomous Council of Assam chief convener Bhupen rah 

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, June 1: The laxity on the part of the State Fince Department and the Chief Executive Members (CEMs) of six autonomous councils of the state outside the Sixth Schedule has pushed the life of as many as 270 casual employees of autonomous councils in the state towards an uncertain future. This is a trauma that has dealt a death blow to a number of autonomous council employees by now.

In support of their demand for regularization of their jobs, the casual employees of autonomous councils under the banner of the Coordition Committee of Secretariat Employees' Union of Autonomous Council of Assam today staged a fast from 11 am to 4 pm in front of the Directorate of WPT & BC in Guwahati today.

The State Fince Department issued a circular in March this year stating that the posts of the employees working in the six autonomous councils in the State were not sanctioned by the Fince Department, and hence their salaries should be stopped forthwith. Some employees of the autonomous councils have not been getting their salaries for about a year, and after the Fince Department's circular these employees have been apprehensive of losing their jobs for good, and hence many of them have been on a traumatic phase.

The chief convener of the Coordition Committee Secretariat Employees' Union of Autonomous Council of Assam, Bhupen rah, said: "Benudhar Pait, a Mising Autonomous Council (MAC) employee, lost his mental balance and then died after the long spell of nonpayment of salaries. Some other members of the MAC like Supply Doley, Manik Pegu, Shishuram Payeng and Nityanda Kaman have also died for not getting their salaries for a long time. Instead of thinking something positive for us, the government is now planning to axe us."

According to rah, the salaries of the 270 autonomous council employees range from Rs 1,500 to Rs 6,000. "We haven't tried for other jobs as we're working in the autonomous councils. The Chief Executive Members (CEMs) of the six autonomous council also did precious little to regularize our jobs by taking up the matter with the higher ups," rah said.

The six CEMs of the autonomous councils are Dr. Ranuj Pegu of the Mising Autonomous Council (MAC), Bhairab Deori of the Deori Autonomous Council (DAC), Tankeswar Rabha of the Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council (RHAC), Kumud Kachari of the Thengal Kachari Autonomous Council (TKAC), Dandi Sonowal of the Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council (SKAC) and Dharmendra Bordoloi of the Tiwa Autonomous Council (TAC). They, according to rah, are yet to utter any words even after the autonomous council employees have taken to streets by shouting slogans.

Meanwhile, official sources said that the WPT & BC Department has sent missives to the six autonomous councils outside Sixth Schedule to send proposals regarding their employees so as to let the government recruit people based on the proposals. This shows that the government may go for fresh recruitment, and if not, it will go for a massive reorganization of the existing staff in the autonomous councils.

Meanwhile, the employees today submitted memorandums to the Chief Minister, the Chief Secretary and the Commissioner-Secretary of WPT & BC through the Director of WPT & BC, seeking regularization of their jobs.