Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Oct 22: On the eve of announcement of Assembly elections, the Government today approved regularization of about 62,000 casual workers in all Government Departments in phased manner. The decision would benefit more than 30,000 workers immediately while the rest would get regularized till 2018.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the Government approved recommendations of the Cabinet Sub Committee (CSC), which were submitted yesterday, through circulation of memo among the Cabinet Ministers as it anticipated that the Election Commission of India could announce Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir any time after Diwali festival.
The casual workers, whose regularization the Government has approved on recommendations of the CSC, were engaged in different Government departments since 1994 but had not been regularized so far by the successive dispensations in the State.
Sources said the Government headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has approved recommendations of the CSC in toto including roadmap for regularization of the workers after the Cabinet Ministers okayed them through circulation in the absence of Cabinet meeting.
Following Government approval, 62,000 casual workers, engaged on meager wages, would be regularized in the time frame manner. As per the roadmap, the workers engaged between 1994 to 2005 would be regularized by their Departments with immediate effect as all of them had either completed 10 years of service or would be doing so next year.
The remaining workers engaged after 2005 would be regularized before 2018 or as and when they complete 10 years of service. Regularization of some of the workers could go even beyond 2018.
“Only those workers have been approved for regularization, whose names had been duly recommended by their Departments to the CSC,” sources said.
The casual workers engaged in all Government Departments including Public Health Engineering, Irrigation and Flood Control, Power Development Department, Public Works Department, Horticulture, Floriculture etc have been approved for regularization. Majority of workers approved for regularization have been engaged in PHE, I&FC, PDD and PWD, sources said but added that benefit of regularization has been extended to all the Departments.
Only yesterday, the CSC had recommended regularization of about 62,000 casual workers in all Government departments and submitted its recommendations along with roadmap to the Government.
The CSC was headed by Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather and comprised Rural Development Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar, Planning and Development Minister Ajay Sadhotra, PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Sham Lal Sharma, Urban Development Minister Rigzin Jora and Health and Medical Education Minister Taj Mohi-ud-Din.
This had been a long pending demand of the casual workers of different Government Departments for their regularization, which the CSC has approved in phased manner.
Only yesterday, the Government has approved upgradation of whopping 800 educational institutions in the State.
“About 800 educational institutions have been upgraded from middle to high standard and from high to higher secondary level,” they said, adding most of the upgraded schools fall in the rural and remote areas of the State.
About 224 middle schools have been upgraded to high standard and 153 from high to higher secondary level in Jammu division while about 370 schools have been upgraded in Kashmir region from middle to high and high to higher secondary level. Rest of the upgraded schools fall in Ladakh.
The upgradation of educational institutions was a long pending demand in various parts of the State.
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