Covid-19 crisis: Over 400 HSVP employees shown the door

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 1

The economic distress caused by ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has taken toll on the livelihood of more than 400 data entry operators and clerks with the Haryana Shehari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) showing them the door.

The sacking of these employees, employed through outsourcing at different offices of the HSVP, the urban development arm of the Haryana Government, is set to adversely affect HSVP’s working as a majority of the employees were working on data compilation of properties in different urban estates across Haryana.

While the order of the HSVP Chief Administrator exempted those employed through government-controlled HARTRON and those having stay orders from the Punjab and Haryana High Court from sacking, the officers concerned were asked to relieve the other staff with effect from September 30.

Meanwhile, throwing their lot behind the sacked employees, Subhash Lamba, president of the Sarv Karamchari Sangh, flayed the “double standards” of the HSVP. “While the staff employed through HARTRON and those having stay from HC have been retained, the other outsourced staff has been sacked which is legally untenable,” he asserted.

He demanded immediate intervention of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who is also HSVP chairman, in the matter as he had repeatedly been urging the private sector not to retrench their staff while several government undertakings were resorting to such “unfair practice”.

It is not for the first time that a government undertaking has resorted to retrenchment during coronavirus crisis. Earlier, Haryana Tourism had retrenched 424 employees while Kurukshetra Development Board had terminated 64 employees.

Highlights

Over 400 data entry operators shown the door by HSVP.

Sacking likely to affect government functioning as majority of them were engaged in updating data of properties.

SKS seeks intervention by CM, who is also HSVP Chairman.