Morung Express News
Kohima | August 23
Intensifying its agitation over non-release of monthly salary for several months, the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) employees entered its 3rd phase of agitation today with a pen-down strike in all the districts. The month-long phase wise agitation started on August 9.
Taking prompt pursuance for the two demands put up for “immediate release of pending salary” and “monthly payment of salary henceforth”, the DRDA today said that “verbal assurances” or “piecemeal salary” will not be considered a solution and that it has decided to go on with agitation in phase-wise until their demands are met.
“Even if project directors try to convince the staffs working under them, everybody is so united and we want to go ahead till our rights are fulfilled. Calling off the strike is like calling off the issue,” a project director who wished to remain anonymous expressed.
In the latest development, a deliberation meeting with the Minister for RD, Mestubo Jamir, the Principal Secretary RD and all the Project Directors was held on August 22, Thursday. According to the Principal Secretary, the Minister said that he will be travelling to New Delhi to intimate Union RD officials over the same. During the meeting, the Minister also informed that the process for release of salary put up by the department has also been put up to the finance department.
Subsequently, the same has been forwarded to the Chief Minister. He also stated that since the CM is out of station, the files would be cleared only after his return.
When queried on the complicacy of the issue, the RD Principal Secretary Bendangkokba, IAS claimed that although the DRDA staffs are regular government employees, 90% of their salary is borne through the Ministry of Rural Development and only 10% from the state. Annual salary requirement is Rs. 22 crores. This, however, is released in scale wise, he said.
During the meeting, other demands that was said to be met were redeployment and restructuring of DRDA employees. It may be noted that a recurrent issue in the DRDA is over-staffed employment.
The pen-down strike will continue till August 30. A mass casual leave from September 2-6 which would be the next phase of agitation from August 31 is expected to directly affect the smooth functioning of all the missions coming under the DRDAs which is the principal organ at the district level to oversee the implementation of all the schemes. The Management Information System (MIS) will also be affected.
The VBD association Kohima today also expressed solidarity towards the agitation.
