Casual Labours adjusted in Soil Conservation Department of Pohru Langate Division Wednesday alleged that officials in the Division not only provided them wrong information under Right to Information Act but also mislead the higher ups through media that casual labours had not sought any information under the Act.During a protest here in Press Enclave Srinagar, Casual labours from Langate Division of Soil Conservation Department told CNS that they have been serving the department prior 1996 and when the government decided to regularize their services, the Soil Conservation officials started adjusting more casual labours with an intent to grab money from them. “The total number of casual labours who had been appointed in the department till 1996 were 436. Shortly after Cabinet passed an order vide number 99/07/204 dated 3/6/2014 directing the department to provide details of all the casual labours employed till 1994, certain officials in Pohru Langate Division of Soil Conservation Department started adjusting more men in lieu of money. We sought details from the department and ironically the information we received under RTI was not only fake but misleading as well. Those employed before 1994 do not figure in the list. When we threatened to approach media and higher ups, the officials apologized for hiding the details about newly appointed people,” the casual labours said.
They added that a day after the officials from the Division apologized to them, “some officials from the Division published a fake notice in a particular Urdu Daily using our names which read that those who had sought information under RTI from the department seeking list of casual labours are all praise for the Division officials and they have felt sorry for accusing the department of misconduct,” they said.“First the officials from Division indulged in fake appointments to grab money from the naïve people. Then they provided wrong information under RTI and concealed the names of even those persons who have been serving the department prior 1994. They apologized for them same and yet again misled higher ups using our names claiming that we have no complaints against Soil Conservation officials,” they said and appealed Governor of the State to look into the matter and initiate a probe into the misconduct.DFO Irfan Ali Shah told CNS that it is unfortunate that the names of casual labours who had been serving the department even before 1994 are missing in the list. “I suggest these casual labours to seek details from Conservator Central Circle Forest Department under RTI Act so that reality will come to fore,” he said. (CNS)