Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Feb 19: The CIC operators of the Rural Development Department (RDD) today wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking attention to their issue, with a special focus on their regularization pending for years.
The operators stated that the year 2014 marked a pivotal moment when the J&K Cabinet, recognizing the key role played by CIC Operators of RDD, made the landmark decision to regularize their services, thereby securing a brighter future for these dedicated professionals.
“Subsequently, in 2016, the Rural Development Department took a momentous stride by creating 172 Data Entry Operator posts in the Rural Development Department through Government order 320-RD & PR of 2016 dated 14.12.2016, aligning seamlessly with cabinet directives to regularize our services under the Special Provision Act (2010),” they said.
The CIC operators further stated that the Finance Department’s high-level Empowered Committee, during its 58th and 60th meetings in 2016 and 2017 respectively, unequivocally endorsed the regularization of all CIC Operators of RDD under J&K Special Provision Act (2010).
“Additionally, the Advocate General of UT J&K and the Department of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs UT J&K have provided strong legal endorsements in support of our regularization.”
Despite these promising developments in the case, the CIC operators stated, “we continue to grapple with the harsh realities of skyrocketing inflation, subsisting on a meager monthly salary of Rs 10,000, which translates to a mere Rs 333 per day.”
They further noted: “Despite our relentless appeals to the Government for a salary revision commensurate with our qualifications and contributions, our pleas have regrettably fallen on deaf ears.”
The aggrieved CIC operators said that their journey commenced in 2004 with their recruitment into the Rural Development Department through a transparent and merit-based process overseen by Deputy Commissioners.
“Despite possessing advanced qualifications like MCA, MSc, and BE/B.Tech degrees, we have steadfastly served communities for over two decades; we are being paid peanuts without regularization of services.”
The operators urged the PM, “Your steadfast intervention is crucial in ensuring that justice is not merely a distant promise but a tangible reality for the diligent CIC Operators who serve as the backbone of rural development initiatives in Jammu and Kashmir.”
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