Faridabad: Employees Jobless After the Merger of Village Panchayats With Municipal Corporation

As per reports from Haryana, around 113 employees of the former panchayats of 24 villages who were transferred to the MCF (Municipal Corporation Faridabad) have yet to receive employment and their pending salaries since January 2021. 

The delay in jobs and salaries has created major unrest among the employees of the erstwhile panchayats, with many claiming that they are facing a survival crisis. 

The affected employees include 29 sanitation workers, 70 tubewell operators and 14 gardeners. The village panchayats earlier hired these workers; that changed once the panchayats were merged with the MCF in 2021. 

"While 57 safai workers were absorbed in the MCF in December 2021, there are still 29 workers in this category who are awaiting a call from the civic body," says Manoj Balguher, an employee of the civic body.

Balguher further told Tribune India that despite assurances from the authorities that all of the staff (170 workers) would be absorbed after the merger of the panchayats with the civic body, around two-thirds of the employees have been without jobs for the past two years. 

He accused the authorities of adopting a callous attitude, adding that even the 57 workers who have been absorbed by the civic body have yet to receive their salaries "of the break period of 11 months (between January and December 2021)."

Renu and Meenu, two of the affected workers, said that the salary delay has left them in "dire straits."  

Vishal, another worker, said that after working for the village panchayat for seven years, "he was to be transferred to the MCF after the incorporation of the panchayat into the civic body." Losing employment has made it difficult for Vishal to make ends meet. 

Naresh Shastri, president, Nagarpalika Karamchari Sangh, Haryana, stressed that his union would be compelled to agitate if the workers' demands are not accepted soon by the civic authorities. Shastri added that assets and funds worth hundreds of crores that were earlier with the panchayats were transferred to the MCF. Despite that, as per Shastri, the civic body is evading its responsibility towards the employees who were earlier with the panchayats.  

“Employees with proper records have been absorbed, and the cases of the rest have been sent to the higher authorities for consideration. The salary of the break period needs to be paid by the erstwhile employer,” said Birender Kardam, chief engineer, MCF.