Vidhan Bhavan staff protest compulsory 50% attendance; monsoon session likely to be curtailed to 2 days

Vidhan Bhavan employees are upset with a July 13 order making 50% attendance mandatory, despite 17 staffers, including four police personnel, testing positive for

Vidhan Bhavan employees are upset with a July 13 order making 50% attendance mandatory, despite 17 staffers, including four police personnel, testing positive for Covid-19.

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The monsoon session of the state legislature is likely to be held for only two days, with limited presence of legislators, from August 3. The legislature secretariat, through an order issued on Monday, made 50% attendance mandatory for its employees.

Maharashtra legislature principal secretary Rajendra Bhagwat, “We have asked the employees to come to work every alternate day, to ensure their safety. The decision has been taken only because of the ensuing session.”The employees, however, have expressed their discontent over this new rule, considering the state government has mandated only 15% attendance in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“When the state government has mandated 15% attendance, how can the legislature secretariat ask 50% employees to attend office? At least 17 of our employees [of the total 750] have tested positive, while one has succumbed to the virus. Our employees are not allowed to travel by local trains meant for essential service providers. Most of the employees have been working from home efficiently, and asking 50% to attend office will put their lives at risk,” said an office-bearer of the employees union at Vidhan Bhavan.

The monsoon session of the state legislature is scheduled to be held from August 3, after it was postponed last month. The legislature has been tapping the possibility of holding the session online or having a blended approach of online and physical attendance. The state government is expected to curtail the session to two days, with limited attendance of legislators living in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

“Holding the session is inevitable to table and approve the supplementary demands to the state budget for the healthcare outlay required for the fight against the pandemic. The state legislature has written a letter to the parliament administration for guidance on holding the session. Though the mechanism is ready for an online session, many legislators and even a section of legislative office-bearers are against it. In such a case, we may curtail it to two days and allow only limited lawmakers to attend,” said an official from the parliamentary affairs department.

“Another option is to postpone the session again. The decision is expected to be taken during a business advisory committee meeting to be held next week.” A two-week programme has been chalked out for the session, but it is part of the formality, the official said.