J&K minister Sham Lal Sharma resigns ahead of assembly polls

Significantly, the trouble has erupted by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is away to London. However, it is seen as a Congress move to strengthen its support base by pressurizing state government take an early decision on the matter ahead of the assembly elections as its six-year term is expiring in early January next year. Even behind the recent state government’s decision finalizing economic package for refugees from Pakistan occupied Kashmir, sources said that Sharma supported by some Congress ministers had played a key role as these people were settled in Jammu region where Congress have a main stakes.

Giving details, sources said that a cabinet sub-committee headed by Finance Minister A R Rather was constituted way back in 2009 to settle the issues of government employees who had been agitating for one or the other demand from time to time. However, while the sub-committee settled all the issues concerning employees including Sixth Pay Commission, the matter pertaining to the regularization of these casual workers remained unattended.

These workers have been working on a paltry sum between Rs 900 – 1,500 per month, which is far less than even the minimum wages fixed by state government itself. After state government imposed a blanket ban on appointment of daily wagers in 1994, these people were engaged by different departments under different names like “casual workers’’, “need based’’ etc.

“Of these 62,000 people, an over 23,000 work in PHE Department alone, ’’ Sharma said, adding that 80 per cent of the works of the department were being performed by these workers only. However, in the absence of any specific policy for their regularization, they were being made to work on a paltry sum which was less than even the minimum wages fixed by state government, he regretted.

To settle the issue of these workers, the government revived the cabinet sub-committee this year and the latter at its meeting last week unanimously agreed to the regularization of all the 62,000 workers in a phased manner within a period of 120 months (ten years). All its members including Finance Minister A R Rather signed the proposal and decided to send it to the General Administration Department headed by Chief Minister for final approval. The other ministers in the sub-committee including PHE Minister Sham Lal Sharma, Urban Development and Urban Local Bodies Minister Nawang Rigzin Jora, Health and Medical Education Minister Taj Mohiuddin, Planning & Development, Labour and Employment Minister Ajay Sadhotra, Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar and Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mir Saifullah.

The file had to be sent to GAD by the Finance Minister, but he was sitting over it for the last over a week even when assembly elections in the state are likely to be announced anytime now by the Election Commission, said PHE Minister Sham Lal Sharma. “Most of these workers hail from Jammu region and one has to take the initiative to get them justice, ’’ he added.