Malda DM to follow fresh govt orders

Statesman News Service

MALDA, (India). Nov. 24. — The Malda district magistrate is determined to follow the latest government order to release the salary of the junior engineers engaged in the district primary education programme (DPEP) on contract basis.

The Malda DM, Mr Abhijit Choudhuri, said: “We have already released their salary on the basis of the old order and are not bothered about their demand on this issue, though they are reluctant to submit their salary statement based on the fresh government order”, Mr Choudhuri said.

It was learnt that the Malda junior engineers in DPEP are trying to form an organisation across the state demanding execution of the old order and have sent memorandum to the concerned authorities.

Trouble broke out when it was detected that at least 12 junior engineers, appointed by the administration in DPEP on contractual basis, have been drawing their remuneration on an average Rs 32,000 per month each, much more than the salary of the Malda district magistrate.

Authorities said that after detection of irregularities and misuse of government funds allotted for Sarbo Shiksha Abhijan, the state government has issued a fresh order on 30 June 2005 to check such malpractice and to disburse their remuneration on the basis of evaluation of their performance.

Recently, after fresh calculation of their salary statements on the basis of the new government order , the authorities have calculated the amount of salary for the month of July 2005 and onwards is Rs 4000 on an average which was calculated nearly Rs. 34,000 earlier.

The salary of 12 junior engineers (on contractual basis) for the month of July, August and September this year was also held up after the detection of such “corruption”, officials said.

A senior official has also objected to the abnormal claim of travelling allowances submitted by the junior engineers.

He said : “ How can a junior engineer who earlier visited 30 construction sites in a particular month visit 56 sites in the same month after receiving the fresh government order?”

“Their remuneration has been held up due to this reason”, he claimed.

Speaking to this correspondent , a senior officer of the district administration explained how the junior engineers had been able to draw excessive remuneration evading the administrative monitoring system.

He said , according to the first government order , the contractual salary structure was : “ Consolidated pay of Rs. 1000 , travelling allowance for visiting at least 40 sites in a month was Rs 1200 (fixed) and additional payment was settled at the rate of 1.75 percent on ‘financial achievement of the construction’ of additional buildings or rooms of a primary and upper primary school under the supervision of DPEP for Sarba Shiksha Abhijan”.

“The junior engineers had earned more money taking the opportunity of ‘financial achievement’ system showing ‘false’ statement of the construction report that was beyond the capacity to calculate for the officials who used to grant the salary bills”, a WBCS officer disclosed.

In order to check such misappropriation of funds , the government had to issue a fresh order to change salary structure of the junior engineers where the additional payment system has been fixed based on simple calculation.

Now a junior engineer will claim only Rs 1000 on the basis of completion certificate of one additional class room of a school. Besides , they are entitled to receive Rs 1500 consolidated pay for a month and travelling allowance of Rs 2500 per month for visiting at least 50 sites in a month.