Appeals CS for justice
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 20: Running from pillar to post for justice a retired female migrant employee of Rural Development Department (RDD) has been subjected to mental harassment and humiliation after being denied the benefits and other dues since her retirement from Department in 2020.
Pratiba Koul a retired Junior Assistant of Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj who attained superannuation on March 31 in 2020 has to face mental agony as the Department failed to send her pension case to AG’s Office for 18 months and failed to release her other dues including arrears of 6th and 7th Pay Commission and HRA said Dilip Kumar, her husband. Even her time bound promotion which was already released by Project Office of the Department, Budgam on December 8 in 2018 where she was initially posted was not entertained by the local office here and the orders in this regard were over ruled. Moreover, the leave encashment was not released despite the entry of same was made in her service book and she was forced to get attendance certificate from the Department which she got with great struggle after a gap of two years and only then her leave encashment was released, Dilip added.
The poor official faced such an agony that her salary of March 2020 was released in 2023 and her 6th Pay, 7th pay and third time bound promotion arrears as well as her HRA arrears amounting to several lakhs are still pending with the Department and despite her repeated pleas to concerned authorities they failed to pay any heed to her request. She was every time dodged by the authorities who ignored her every request of releasing her dues on the pretext that there is dearth of funds, added Dilip.
He said the family is in dire need of money as they both are in old age. Besides, they badly need money to discharge their social responsibilities towards their grown up children. But to the utter surprise of the family the authorities at the helm of affairs in RDD do not pay heed to their request.
Dilip who represented the case of his wife before the Director RDD Jammu two days back was informed that the case will be sent to Srinagar and the employee had to pursue it there. He said it is not known that when his wife was posted in Jammu after the mass exodus of Kashmir Pandits in Valley and she served the Department here for about three decades, is not it the responsibility of the Department to get her case settled.
Losing all hope in the RDD authorites, the couple has now made an appeal to Chief Secretary J&K, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta seeking his intervention in the case and justice. The poor employee is demanding release of her all pending dues without further delay with nine percent interest from 2020.
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