In an extraordinary protest, local MLA and cabinet minister Alexander Laloo Hek and Community and Rural Development Minister Abu Taher Mondal had to abandon their plans to attend the inauguration of the Mawpat block office by residents who denied them entry.
Mondal, Hek, and various civil servants were not allowed to enter the office premises by hundreds of residents of Mawpat, who were led by Rangbah Shnong Judah Wahlang and other members of the Dorbar Shnong.
The Dorbar Shnong of Mawpat is demanding that the casual/contractual workers in the Mawpat community and rural development block should be paid as per the Minimum Wages Act.
During the stand-off between the two sides outside the block office, Hek said that he had discussed the issue with the Labour Department even as the residents refused to believe him without written assurance. “It is a law (minimum wages) and the government has to adhere to it,” Hek told the crowd.
Unable to convince the residents to allow the inauguration to proceed, both VIPs left the venue. Later, Hek told reporters that the residents of Mawpat should have met him as their local representative before deciding to prohibit the inauguration of the block office.
He said that he was never informed about the agreement signed in 2017 between the Dorbar Shnong and the Community and Rural Development Department, which Mondal heads.
“I came to know about it only the day before yesterday, through a letter sent over WhatsApp,” Hek said.
Meanwhile, Mondal said that whenever the issue is solved the Block Office will be inaugurated. “These offices are to serve the people only. If people are not happy there is no question of bulldozing,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, the Rangbah Shnong of Mawpat said that the Dorbar Shnong gave 3 acres of land free of charge to the government to build the block office. However, as part of the land transfer, an agreement was signed, Wahlang said, that residents of Mawpat would receive preferential treatment in government Grade 4 job category recruitment.
“We opposed today’s plan of the government to inaugurate the office on the basis that as per the agreement signed in July 14, 2017 land to the tune of 3 acres was given to the department free of cost and in return the youths of the area should be given special preference in Grade 4 jobs. We are also concerned about the job security of those already working and who will work in future,” the headman said.
According to Wahlang, the residents are concerned if there are aspirants who passed the District Selection Committee (DSC) exams and in the process those who are already working or will be appointed as per the 2017 agreement may have to give way to them.
“The job security for those working as casual/contractual employees in all the 46 Community and Rural Development Blocks is only for 89 days and after that the department will have to renew it,” the Mawpat Rangbah Shnong said.
He wants the government to give a commitment that the job security of the Mawpat residents will not be affected.
On the issue of salaries, Wahlang said that the employees working in the department since 2017 received only Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000 per month and it was only last year that this was revised to between Rs 6,000 and Rs 15,000.
He, however, said that all of such employees are in the Grade 4 category and therefore, the Dorbar Shnong felt that there is disparity in the way wages is being disbursed.
