PONDA: Ponda Vikas Samiti (PVS) condemned the government for allowing government staff to work even after they reached the age of retirement. It said the “extension of services” was a great injustice for unemployed youth and contract workers who had been paid meagre salaries for over a decade.
PVS secretary Milind Madguth informed that they will hold a protest on October 3 by visiting the offices of the ‘privileged’. The officials would then be given a rose and picture of a toy chair.
Madguth questioned the need to extend the services of retiring officials when several youngsters were working on contract basis at the PWD. He alleged that around 100 officials in different departments have been given extensions.
He also claimed that former chief minister Manohar Parrikar, after coming to power in 2012, assured no extension would be given to government officials. However, he and his successor Laxmikant Parsekar had left their assurances unfulfilled by giving extensions to select officers.
PVS President Ram Kunkoleikar alleged that some of the privileged were over 65 years old and that a Ponda PWD assistant engineer had been given an extension twice.
Madguth went on to name some of the officials, including Chief Engineer Dattaprasad Borkar, Education Director Bhaskar Nayak, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in-charge Anil Powar, land revenue department official Ajit Talaulikar.
He claimed that the salaries of these “old men” ranged from thousands to lakhs of rupees, while young PWD contract workers were drawing a salary of Rs 4,000 – 8,000, which was an injustice to the latter group.
