Delhi govt regularises 700 contractual jal board employees

A senior DJB official said that the regularised employees will be able to enjoy perks and benefits such as medical facilities, government accommodation, leave benefits and terminal dues such as gratuity, etc

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said that his government intends to have only permanent posts in all departments by regularising the contractual staff, adding other state governments will be forced to follow the trend set by the Aam Aadmi Party dispensation in the national capital.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal handing over a certificate confirming employment to an employee during the regularisation of 700 contractual Delhi Jal Board employees at an event held at the Delhi Secretariat in New Delhi on Wednesday. (ANI)

Kejriwal made the comments after handing over regularisation certificates to 700 Delhi Jal Board staff. He said the nationwide trend is hiring on contract and decreasing permanent jobs, but Delhi is moving in the opposite direction by improving government services.

The chief minister said no past government in Delhi has regularised so many employees in one go. “Never in the history of Delhi has any past government regularised contractual workers on such a large scale. Now, other state governments will also be compelled to follow in Delhi’s footsteps. We plan to regularise staff in every department of the Delhi government,” he added.

The chief minister rejected as “hoax” the notion that once staff is regularised it becomes complacent.

The newly regularised DJB employees were handed over certificates confirming their employment by the chief minister at Delhi Secretariat.

Bimla Rani, who got a permanent position, said that she is a mother of three children, and with low salary, it was becoming increasingly difficult to run the house. “Now that my salary has increased, we will also be able to properly educate my two daughters. I’ll also be able to attend to my younger son’s education,” she said.

Dalchand Singh, another DJB employee said the regularized employees will work even harder.

Rakesh Kumar, DJB worker, said the hike in salary that he would get as a permanent employee would help him take better care of his mother who is sick.

A senior DJB official said that the regularised employees will be able to enjoy perks and benefits such as medical facilities, government accommodation, leave benefits and terminal dues such as gratuity. etc. These workers will also receive arrears from 2019, the official said.

Kejriwal said when the AAP came to power in Delhi, the condition of government schools was extremely poor and the entire country was of the opinion that government schools should be shut. “It was believed that schools should be privatised by handing them over to corporate giants. People held a similar view about the healthcare facilities. Another common perception was that once employees are regularised, they do not work as hard anymore – that they become complacent and lazy. This was the reason people cited against the idea of regularising workers ,” the chief minister said.

He said if the governments engage with their employees, address and solve their problems, then no one would work as hard as them.

He stated that the power and control that the Delhi Government can exercise is very limited and the central government has the final word over the state government. The government will make consistent efforts and negotiate with the Central government to ensure more employees in other Delhi government departments are regularised, Kejriwal added.

According to Constitution, services, police and land come directly under the lieutenant governor in Delhi.