Shillong, May 22: The employees of GHADC under the banner, Non Gazetted Employees Association (NGEA), have rejected the salary for just five months and asserted that they will not resume office unless the pending salary of 34 months is cleared.
The NGEA also justified the FIR lodged on May 20 against two officers, Sukumar N Marak, Superintending Engineer Civil Works and Niksang G Momin, Executive Engineer, Civil Works of Garo Hills Autonomous District Council regarding the movement of files.
However, a counter FIR was filed by the engineers.
The NGEA pointed out that what happened on May 20 was that the two engineers in the absence of UDA, LDA and other employees, took away the bunch of files in the morning hours and this was admitted by the police personnel when they came for investigation.
The officers, in the counter FIR, mentioned that they were instructed by the authorities but the argument of the NGEA is that if that was the case, all the 29 elected MDCs could just instruct the officers to take the files from any department and they can take the files as and when they need at any point of time without recording. The officers had also claimed that it was an emergency situation as there was no power. But the NGEA wanted to know what prevented the officers from using the generator of GHADC if there was no electricity.
The NGEA had asked the police to come along with them to the house of the officers to return the files and “it was not the police who intervened for trying to snatch the files from the officers as claimed by CEM of GHADC”.
On the allegation of GHADC CEM Benedict Marak that the NGEA has been threatening, abusing and obstructing the employees and asking them not to accept the five months’ salary, they said the statement of CEM is incorrect.
“It’s the entire employees of GHADC who had unanimously decided not to accept the five months’ salary in old scale and we still give freedom to any employee whoever wants to accept the five months’ salary in old scale”, he said.
The NGEA further clarified that there are some employees who were part of the NGEA and filed a contempt case in 2018.
“They withdrew the case without the knowledge of the employees for their vested interests and some of the same vested interested group of people namely Grikseng D Marak (Inspector of Taxation), Googoo Ch Marak (Sub Inspector of Taxation) Bandi D Marak (LDA Taxation), Terang B Marak ( Forester), Carlotta Vera M Marak (UDA Finance Department), Tenga Tengcheng Ch Momin(Stenographer, General Department) and Tipul Marak, the PA of CEM of GHADC are visiting each and every family of the aggrieved employees and doing signature campaign to accept the five months’ salary,” the NGEA alleged.
To another allegation by the CEM, the NGEA said that they are neither like pressure groups nor political parties.
“We deny of having any involvement with political parties and in fact there are some politicians like Andres Ch Marak,who unsuccessfully, contested the last GHADC election from Balachanda constituency, are urging the NGEA to accept the five months’ salary and he went on to claim that he will negotiate with the NPP- let EC to give 6 months’ salary but we told him that we can’t take any decision”, the NGEA said.
According to the NGEA, since they have rejected the request of Andres, he is targeting them by circulating the counter FIR filed by the officers on various social media in support of the officers and the EC of GHADC.
“Who is playing politics here?. Why all these politicians, including Agatha Sangma and individuals, are forcing the employees to accept the five months’ salary and since the day one, we have never approached any politician to support us with regard to the non-payment of salary for 34 months,” the NGEA said.
“Though we have decided not to accept the five month’s salary in old scale, the new EC is forcing us to take the same and passed an order to release the salary to the employees. Let the EC pay the five months’salary but the employees are not going to resume duty unless 34 months’ salary is cleared to us at once. We also request Benedict Marak to display in public the list of majority of employees who are willing to accept the five months’ salary and also to name the politicians and the political parties whom we had approached,” the NGEA said.
The NGEA also wanted to know if the secretary of GHADC, Rikse R Marak had tendered her resignation on May 10, why is she still working as secretary using the GHADC vehicle.
