Danishwar Hameed
The Jammu Kashmir administration has disengaged the services of hundreds of part-time sweepers engaged in the Health department of the Kashmir valley.
In an official communication, accessed by The Kashmiriyat, the health department has directed to disengage all part time sweepers who were engaged without any due/ proper procedure.
The admin has also called for the identification of the officers/ officials who were responsible for the engaging the same so that disciplinary proceedings, as warranted under rules, shall be initiated against them for making such engagements without following proper procedure.
The admin has directed the officials at the hospitals, Block Medical Officers to utilize the services of these part time sweepers henceforth in compliance to the direction given by the Administrative Department vide communication dated: 16.10.2023, failing which, the concerned DDO shall be personally responsible for incurring any liability by utilizing their services.
Earlier an order dated 16.10. 2023 stated that, in order to carry out the sanitation works in health institutions, a number of part-time sweepers were engaged by the subordinate offices without following due procedure for their engagements.
Further, the process of sanitation in the government offices including the Health Department has been outsourced by the government, as a result of which the wages in respect of these part-time sweepers, who were engaged in health institutions, remained unpaid due to non-availability of funds as their engagement was not covered under any regular budget allocation.
Due to the non-availability of remunerations, most of the part-time sweepers filed litigation in the Honourable Courts for releasing their wages and the Hounourable court, in case titled Mehraj Din Kumar and other vs Mr Pawan Kotwal & Others and in similar other cases, has passed directions for release of wages in favour of the petitioners.
The services of these part-time sweepers were continued without any source of funding under any head/budget despite the fact that the whole assignment is now being done on an outsourcing basis.
Therefore, there is no requirement or legal justification to continue the services of these part-time sweepers.
In view of the above, and in continuation to this office letter No. HD- Lgal/187/2023-02 (CC-7220191) dated 19.09.2023, I am directed to advise you to disengage all such part-time sweepers who were engaged without any due/proper procedure forthwith and identify the officers/officials who were responsible for the same so that disciplinary proceeding, as warranted under rules, shall be initiated against them for making such engagements without following proper procedure.
The action taken report, in this regard, be submitted to the Administrative Department within a week’s time positively.