Safai Sewaks accuse Sangrur MC of harassment
Sushil Goyal
Sangrur, July 20
As a reminder, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes has asked Sangrur Deputy Commissioner (DC) to furnish the action taken report, relating to a complaint of harassment and discrimination against Scheduled Castes (SCs), to the Commission within a week.
Commission’s Reminder
I am directed to refer to this commission’s letter dated May 31, 2024, on the subject and to say that no reply in the matter has been received from your end so far, even after passing the stipulated time. — National Commission of SCs
As per a July 19 letter, an officer of the commission mentioned, “I am directed to refer to this commission’s letter of even number dated May 31, 2024, on the subject mentioned above and to say that no reply in the matter has been received from your end so far, even after passing the stipulated time.”
Former Municipal Councillor Jatinder Kalra had submitted a complaint some months ago to the commission under the subject, “Complaint against the Sangrur Municipal Council (MC) and officials concerned with the Punjab Government who are doing injustice to members of the SCs at Sangrur.”
In the complaint, he said Safai Sewaks employed at Sangrur MC were harassed and exploited by officials at the MC and other authorities concerned with the Punjab Government, stating that Sangrur MC has been deducting PF (provident fund) from their salary for many years; however, the same has not been deposited into their PF accounts for 8–9 years.
The complaint also said that the members of the Scheduled Caste community have been facing discrimination as other employees who did not belong to the community may have gotten their provident fund deposited regularly.
In the complaint, Kalra has asked the commission to take appropriate action to provide justice to the members of the SC community and stringent legal action against the errant officials.
In a statement issued today, Kalra stated that due to the non-deposit of the provident fund of the Safai Sewaks into their Provident Fund accounts by the MC, they have been facing financial hardships. He said that due to that, they have to avail themselves of loans at high rates of interest from the money lenders to meet their domestic needs.
