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View Full Version : Virtual marching orders for gram sahayaks



rsdalal
September 11th, 2005, 01:10 AM
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050910/haryana.htm#3

Chandigarh, September 9
The previous INLD regime’s practice of giving jobs to youths of Haryana without making proper arrangements for their salaries is going to hit 1,800 youths who have been recruited as gram vikas sahayaks.

The state government, it is learnt, has decided to reduce the honorarium received by the sahayaks to Re 1 per month from the existing rate of Rs 3,000 every month. Since the sahayaks are officially known as volunteers (being paid honorarium instead of salary), ideally they should not object to the reduction in their monthly emoluments. However, the reality is that none of the sahayaks is going to work if the honorarium is reduced to Re 1.

The proposal of having sahayaks for assisting the panchayats was implemented by the previous government shortly before the last Assembly elections were announced. It was one of the many sops offered by Mr Om Prakash Chautala to woo the voters before the Assembly poll. According to the Act passed by the Haryana Assembly, the sahayaks would be recruited by the panchayats, which would pay the honorarium to them. However, the panchayats cannot terminate their services. This can be done only by the state government.

There were 6,000 vacancies for sahayaks. By the time the Assembly elections were announced and the model code of conduct came into force, the panchayats had enlisted 2,700 sahayaks out of which 1,800 joined duty. But most panchayats do not have the resources for making regular payments to them. As a result, the sahayaks approached the court for relief. The state government will have to now spend over Rs 6 crore for settling their pending dues.

Alarmed by the financial implications, the state government had a relook at the appointment of the sahayaks and found that it was yet another attempt by the previous government to lure the youths before the Assembly elections. There is, however, provision in the Act to reduce the honorarium of the sahayaks and the government has taken recourse to this to change the amount to Re 1 from Rs 3,000. In effect, the sahayaks are being given marching orders by the state government.

The lapses in recruiting the gram vikas sahayaks is similar to the story of the Haryana Industrial Security Force (HSISF).The HSISF, raised by the Chautala-led government before the last Assembly elections, was supposed to be hired by industries and commercial organisations. The recurring expenditure on maintaining the force was to come from the money paid to the government by those who would hire it. But it was later found that neither industries nor commercial establishments were actually interested in hiring the HSISF and eventually the force had to be disbanded.