Prayagraj, 15 December: The Yogi government has given major relief to over 36 thousand daily wage workers of the state forest department.
Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Environment, Forest and Climate Change Manoj Singh filed a compliance affidavit in the Allahabad High Court and said that the daily wage workers of the Forest Department, who are being given Rs 7000 from the Sixth Pay Commission, will all be given Rs 18,000 per month including arrears from April 1, 2018. Those who have become regular in the service will also be paid dues at the same rate.
ACS said that this work will be done in a week and a policy will be prepared for payment of minimum wage scale to the remaining daily wage workers working for more than 20 years.
Additional Advocate General Ashok Mehta also gave a similar assurance and said that by the next hearing date, January 15, a policy will be prepared to give minimum pay scale to all the employees.
The court has said that all the daily wage employees of the forest department will be allowed to work. No one will be removed by hiring an outsourcing employee.
The court said that a committee will be formed under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary Environment, Forest and Climate Change or a nominated officer of the secretary level, in which five or six officers of the government and forest department will be members. The Chief Forest Conservator will also be a member of the committee.
The court added that this committee will prepare a policy to give minimum pay scale to all the working daily wage employees of the Forest Department which will be presented in the court by the Additional Chief Secretary through a compliance affidavit.
The next hearing of the petition will be on January 15.
Justice Ajit Kumar has given this order while hearing the petition of Vijay Kumar Srivastava, a daily wage worker working in Gorakhpur Forest Department.
The petitioner’s advocate expressed apprehension over the implementation of the order based on the previous attitude of the government officials and said that the officials may reverse the situation after the assurance.
In response, the Additional Advocate General said that forgetting the past things, the government is going to prepare the policy with honesty and seriousness. Payment will be made within a week and a policy will be made. There is no reason to doubt.
The court expressed hope that the authorities will act on their words and a policy will be made to give minimum pay scale to daily wage employees working for more than 10-20 years. No one will be removed.
