The Non Gazetted Employees Association (NGEA) of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) has written to Governor Satya Pal Malik requesting that no contractors are paid from the Rs 18 crore that the Council is to receive for payment of pending salaries.
In a letter to the Governor, the NGEA said that it was from reliable sources that they have come to know that Rs 18 crore from the Centre was due to be provided to the GHADC solely for the purpose of salaries of the employees.
“In this regard, we request you kindly issue directions to the Administrator, Vijay Kumar, and the secretary, Rikse Marak, to utilize the money only for the payment of salaries on a revised scale. Earlier a section of the employees have refused to accept salaries in the old scale and hence we request you to take up the matter with the Administrator on this as well,” said the letter.
The NGEA alleged that the outgoing MDCs had been trying to get their bills cleared in the names of various contractors and were approaching the GHADC authorities on the matter.
“Our salaries are pending for the last three years and the outgoing MDCs having been putting pressure on the Accounts Department to release the Rs 18 crore as contract payments in the names of various contractors that are related to them,” they added.
Meanwhile in another letter, the NGEA sought the Governor’s intervention after two employees of the GHADC were apparently lured by the Secretary to quit their jobs to get their pending salaries and a severance package from the GHADC.
“When one Kelvin Smith, employee of the GHADC, met the Secretary seeking the release of his monthly salary, she suggested that he resign to get his dues as well as a severance package from the council. He resigned in the hope of being paid his dues by the Secretary but even after one year, he has not been paid,” said the NGEA.
The NGEA added that a female employee received similar treatment from Rikse and resigned as a result, again in the hope of her dues being cleared and her getting a severance package.
“The action of the Secretary is not only unacceptable but also illegal. She gave false hope to them and had them relieved from their jobs. We request you to kindly look into the matter and address the grievances of the people who resigned on this context,” said the NGEA members.
