HC asks Punjab to clear salary backlog in 4 months

ACTION ON PIL Petition was filed on delay in salaries to teachers

The situation in Punjab is akin to what prevails under financial emergency. HC ARORA, petitioner, in his submission before court

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court, on Monday, asked Punjab to clear salary backlog of all employees within four months.

The direction was issued by the high court bench of chief justice Krishna Murari and justice Arul Palli during the resumed hearing of a petition on delay in disbursal of salaries to teachers that advocate HC Arora had filed.

The court gave direction to the state to decide on salary claim of all, whose cases Arora had cited in his Public Interest Litigation (PIL) within one month, Arora said adding that the state had been asked to clear salary of other employees, who too have not been paid, within a further period of three months.

The detailed order is awaited. Arora had taken up case of delay in salary of 3,639 trained graduate teachers (TGTs) and elementary trained teachers working under Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan Authority (SSA) for the month of December 2017; 900 teachers working under Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan Authority for the month of February 2018; education providers under Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan; 410 Inclusive Education Volunteer teachers (IERT) working under SSA for November 2017; 1,446 Non teaching staff in block primary education offices and district education offices and data operators under SSA; 150 Rural Associated teachers under SSA; 6,800 computer teachers under Punjab Information and Communication Technology Education Society for March 2018.

He had also mentioned the delay in disbursal of salaries of Computer operators in the block development and panchayat offices of Gurdaspur of 15 months, 2,300 panchayat secretaries and other employees in different blocks under the rural development and panchayats department.

Other employees cited in his petition were 500 assistant technology managers under development department for March and April 2018, all employees of municipal corporation, Ludhiana for March 2018 and 150 instructors under technical education and industrial training department.

Arora added that in certain categories of employees — the delayed salaries were released pending petition.

The matter had reached court in May 2018 and the high court had put the state’s chief secretary on notice after Arora alleged that salaries of a cross-section of employees had been withheld, including teachers, had resulted in some of them committing suicides. “The situation in Punjab is akin to what prevails under financial emergency,” he had told court, adding that the salaries of the supervisory officers should also not be released till the time the salaries of all categories of employees in the department concerned are paid to them.