Kounsar Bashir
Community Information Center (CIC) operators working in Rural Development Department (RDD) have demanded the regularization of their services in the department, which is long pending since 17 years.
Talking to The Kashmiriyat over phone, the employees said that the department has assured them in the past that their service would be regularized ‘but nothing has been done till date.’
Er. Noor Ul Nayeem Siddiqui, president CIC Operators, Jammu Kashmir, while talking to The Kashmiriyat said that they have been working at the department for 17 years and their case for regularisation has been in process since 2014 when cabinet order for regularisation arrived.
“Our case is taking too long. We demand the honourable LG Manoj Sinha to settle our case immediately. All the CIC operators are well qualified and have degrees such as MCA, M.Tech, M.Sc.IT, B.E and B.Tech. They are technically very sound and efficient,” said Mr. Siddiqui.
Siddiqui, further, added that they had approached LG many times in the past, “but he has turned deaf ear on our grievances.”
“We sent him letters, e-mails but all went in vain. We have never received a response,” he said in a disheartening tone.
Siddiqui also said that the employees want that by the time they are regularised, they are also paid salaries under 7th Pay Commission.
The 7th Pay Commission establishes a new pay matrix and pay scale that ensures that the pensioners and government employees get a 2.57% hike on their existing income and that a central government employee enjoys a salary that is double than the previous one.
As per the 7th pay commission, a central government employee’s salary is divided in three parts – basic salary, allowances and deductibles. Net CTC is a central government employee’s summation of basic salary multiplied by 7th CPC ( Central Pay Commission) fitment factors plus all allowances.
“We have been constrained to live a miserable and stressful life. We were appointed through open competition after advertisements in leading newspapers of J&K called for applications from eligible candidates in the year 2003-04,” Siddiqui told The Kashmiriyat.
Meanwhile, in a letter addressed to the L.G., a copy of which lies with The Kashmiriyat, the employees had written that “CIC Operators are handling efficiently all the online work of departmental portals viz E-gram-swaraj, SBM, PMAY, Peoples Plan Campaign (SabkiYojnaSabkaVikaas), GPDP, Mission Antyodaya, PFMS etc and other e-Governance related activities. Besides all other office assignments viz-a-viz elections, establishment, accounts, works etc. at Block/District/Directorate/Secretariat level.”
“The said JK government in 2014 passed a cabinet order to formulate a proposal for the regularizations of 172 CIC Operators in RDD JK following which the government in 2016 through its cabinet decision created 172 Data Entry Operators for regularization of their services,” reads the letter.
The letter says that the “Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs JK has given their consent and also the Advocate General of JK also given his consent for regularization of all 172 CIC operators in year 2017.”
“The regularization file of 172 CIC Operators submitted four times to General Administration Department for its approval since 2017, In first instance, GAD sought legal opinion from Department of Law, justice and Parliamentary affairs J&K. In 2nd instance again sought another legal opinion from Advocate General of Jammu & Kashmir. In 3rd instance again file was submitted to Finance. Department by GAD for review of its previous concurrence but Finance. Department reiterates its previous concurrence in favour of CIC Operators. Now, on 4th instance on 03.06.2021 the RDD has been advised by the GAD to put the cases of the CIC Operators before the Establishment cum Selection Committee of Jammu & Kashmir with an illogical reason that the regularization cases of these CIC Operators have cleared under Civil Services, Special Provision Act 2010 and the same has been repealed after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019,” it further says.
“The CIC operators have further appealed to the JK LG for his personal intervention into the matter and issue necessary instructions for regularization and salary enhancement of 172 CIC operators,” says the letter.