Senior leader of CPI (M) and MLA Kulgam, Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami on Monday supported the demands made by several categories of workers for the release of their long pending wages and other dues.According to the statement issued to KNS, Tarigami said, “As the current financial year comes to a close, several government departments are busy in clearing the huge bills of government expenditure, big contractors and even of half finished works, by exploiting re-appropriation and other methods, no attention is being given to release and pay the pending wages of daily rated workers and casual labourers of various categories, working in PHE, PDD, Irrigation & Flood Control, Tourism, Agriculture and several other departments. SSA and temporary teachers, scheme workers related to ICDS, NRHM, Mid Day Meal etc. are also being ignored.”He said that while it is good to clear the huge pending government bills, one fails to understand why the various departments, especially the finance department loads the fag end of the financial year with the clearance of large number of bills, most of which should have been settled earlier. “This despite the assurance of the government in the legislature that the bulk of the budget would be utilized well before the end of the fiscal,” he said.
Tarigami said that the government has also given assurance that the scheme workers would be paid regularly and they will not have to wait for the release of funds by the centre.“Keeping its own assurance in view, the government should have given priority to release and pay all the pending dues to the financially less privileged workers. Needless to say that these workers suffer from job insecurity and severe livelihood issues. When forced to protest, these poor workers face police repression,” he added. He said that the administration solely depends on lathis and teargas shells, thereby depriving the workers of their right to protest also.It is pertinent to say that while the government, time and again claims to resolve big and complex problems being faced by the state, it is not able to settle the routine and much required issues like making timely payments to its employees and workers.The J&K State Committee of CPI (M) strongly urges the state government to seriously consider and grant the demand of the workers and employees and release their dues well before 31st of March.“It is painful to note that a sizeable number of the workers have received the wages just for a month or two,” the statement adds. (KNS)