Queency Jain
Observing that the transport employees were not paid salaries for the past 5 months, the Uttarakhand High Court has requested the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Tirath Singh Rawat to conduct a special meeting to ensure that the employees are paid the arrears.
The Court stated that even though the State is having its own tragedies and crisis, it cannot function in a laid-back style because the employees have started to starve now and it is a matter of immediate concern.
The Court directed the Chief Minister to conduct a meeting, and make sure that the arrears for the months of February to June are paid to the employees as the Court considered the issue to be in violation of Article 21 and 23 of the Constitution, violation of statutory rights under Payment of Wages Act and the labour legislations.
While the Government would need a total of 170 crores for payment of present and future salaries of the employees for the year 2021, the Court questioned the Government for not proposing any budget or bill for the payment of such salaries.
The State of Uttarakhand submitted that since the Corporation has suffered loss, the government is willing to provide Rs. 23 crore to the Uttarakhand Transport Corporation. However, due to Uttaranchal Chief Minister Discretionary Fund Rules, 2000, it is not possible for Chief Minister to provide Rupees 20 crore from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to the corporation.
In conclusion, the Court directed the Chief Minister to conduct the meeting and discuss the issue of non-payment of salaries thereby directing the learned Chief Secretary Om Prakash to inform the Court about the decisions taken and the proposals made in regards to payment of salaries.
