Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 4: More than families of 2500 employees of State Forest Corporation due to non payment of salaries for the last two months are at the verge of starvation. Due to lockdown and inspite clear direction by Prime Minister, the present MD has failed to release salaries. LG has been approached for his kind intervention through mail.
This was stated by Suresh Sharma, spokesman of the Forest Corporation Employees Forum while addressing media persons here, today. He expressed his pain and anguish that inspite of repeated requests for meeting there was no response from Rajbhavan. He while explaining said that GOI has repealed SFC Act and future of more than one lakh family members of erstwhile SFC is uncertain. He asserted that act has been repealed in haste and on the analogy of other states of India where there are Forest Development Corporation is registered under Coy Act. But most of these corporations actually are set up to exploit man made forests unlike UT of JK where at present Timber Lumbering and it’s marketing is being done. The SFC has been established from GLU with maximum pensionable establishment and to save the forests from ruthless loot by Private lessees, Revenue generation has never been a motive of SFC, it has been discharging social obligations by giving employment to thousands and giving livelihood to lakhs of laborers in forests as well as industry associated with timber. The SFC has been now working as scavenging agency to clear forests of dead, deceased, dry and fallen material and providing timber to the inhabitants throughout State on concession basis, he added.
He apprehended that due to ill conceived plans made by certain forest officers to adopt and copy Development Corporation Limited module of working as in case if other states, of India, the employees are likely to suffer in the longer run in case protective measures are not out in place while issuing orders. “We demand that before any final decision is taken by the Government the employees representatives who are stakeholders should be taken on board so as to arrive at decision acceptable to employees”, Sharma added. The employees have already informed Lt. Governor and Chief Secretary that keeping in view background of SFC its working module should either be reverted back to Government Lumbering Undertaking with all its approved support system i.e grant – in -Aid and exploitation of markings or it should be merged with the Forest Department. Sharma made a fervent appeal to LG for taking a judicious decision acceptable to all and release two months pending salary without delay.
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