Secretariat staff protest DA release delay, ask govt to rein in expenses

Shimla, August 23

Advertisement

The employees of the state secretariat today held a gate meeting and staged a protest against the delay in the grant of the dearness allowance (DA) to them. They threatened the government with dire consequences if they are not granted DA immediately.

The employees accused the government of making wasteful expenditure on political appointments by appointing officers on special duty (OSDs) and re-engaging the services of retired officers on hefty salaries.

They also expressed their resentment over the remarks made by Town and Country Planning Minister Rajesh Dharmani against their protest. The employees have been holding gate meeting for the last three days.

The protesters alleged that there was no cut in expenditure being made by the CM, ministers, chairmen and vice chairmen of boards and corporations, OSDs, IAS and IPS officers. They added that they would meet the CM and place their demands before him.

Meanwhile, Naresh Chauhan, media adviser to the CM, urged the employees to approach the government through a dialogue to resolve their issues, rather than resorting to criticism or making allegations.

He emphasised that the state government had always been a well-wisher of its employees, as demonstrated by the swift restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) at the first Cabinet meeting, benefiting 1.36 lakh employees.

Chauhan reiterated that the government remained committed to the welfare of all sections of society, including farmers, horticulturists and unemployed, and called for a constructive dialogue to address employees’ concerns.