Priya Ranjan against retrenchement

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Aug 5: The Union I&B and parliamentary affairs minister, Mr Priya Ranjan Das Munshi today criticised the state government’s decision of retrenching casual workers of the English Bazaar Municipality. The Congress-affiliated Intuc, meanwhile, has called a 12-hour Malda town bandh over the issue tomorrow. Though a few district Congress leaders are against the bandh, Mr Biswanath Guho, vice chairman of the EBM and a senior Congress leader has supported it. Mr Das Munshi said here today that he would would look into the matter on priority basis. “I will meet the EBM chairman Mr Narendranath Tiwari to discuss the issue,” Mr Das Munshi, said. Justifying the movement launched by the non-Left employees’ unions of the EBM, including the Intuc, Mr Das Munshi, said: “If necessary, the union leaders should legally challenge the state government’s move,” Mr Das Munshi, added. It may be recalled that the directorate of local bodies had recently instructed the the EBM chief to disengage a total of 450 casual workers from 6 August. State urban development minister Mr Asok Bhattacharya has reportedly told the Malda Congress leaders that the order would not be executed “with immediate effect.” A Congress delegation, including Malda MP Mr AH Khan Choudhury, district Congress president Ms Rubi Noor and EBM chairman Mr Narendranath Tiwari recently met Mr Bhattacharya in Kolkata, requesting him to issue a stay order on the government’s ruling. Despite the request, the civic body received the third retrenchment letter on 3 August. “If we retrench all casual workers from tomorrow, municipal services would collapse here. We are in a dilemma as we can either retrench all casual workers nor ignore the government order,” the EBM chief, Mr Tiwari, said. Official sources said that the DLB would appoint an administrator to oversee the utilisation of government funds by the EBM.The EBM authorities, it may recalled, were accused of diverting government funds meant for development projects to pay the casual workers. The Congress, Trinamul Congress and the BJP-led board had allegedly adopted a resolution to pay the casual workers from the funds allotted by the state government for execution of solid waste management and other schemes.The Malda Congress leaders, however, are divided on the retrenchment issue. While the EBM chief Mr Narendranath Tiwari is moving from pillar to post in support of the casual workers, former civic body chief and English Bazaar MLA Mr Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury sees no problem in executing the government’s retrenchment order.