ADC staff salaries and pensions in doubt, GMP raises concerns at press conference

Tripura Rajya Upajati Ganamukti Parishad (GMP) general secretary Radhacharan Debbarma addressed a press conference on the salaries and retirement dues of ADC employees.

Questions have once again been raised over the salaries, allowances and retirement dues of ADC employees. GMP leaders claimed there are fears over whether about 4,000 ADC employees will receive their full salaries and allowances before Durga Puja.

Radhacharan Debbarma alleged that because of financial mismanagement by the ADC administration, retired employees have long been deprived of their pensions, gratuity and other benefits. He claimed that many employees who retired from 2022–23 onwards have still not received their retirement dues in full.

According to last month’s figures, about 494 retired employees have not received their pension for one to one-and-a-half years, it was claimed. Another 350 or so receive a pension but have not been paid their gratuity and other retirement dues, and the number of people awaiting dues has since grown, they said.

A section of retired employees approached the High Court seeking their dues, and according to them the court has directed the ADC administration to clear the arrears. They fear a High Court order could affect the payment of salaries and allowances to ADC employees in December, and put the ADC’s total financial liability at about ₹193 crore.

They also criticised the state Finance Minister’s remarks on the pension arrears, arguing that the salaries and pensions of ADC employees should not be brushed off as solely the ADC administration’s responsibility. Although the ADC is an autonomous body, it has an administrative link with the state government’s Tribal Welfare Department, so the state government also has a responsibility to resolve the problem, they said.

GMP leaders said that when other municipal bodies or nagar panchayats run into similar financial trouble the state government steps in, and it should play the same role for the ADC. They accused the state government of “discriminatory treatment” of the ADC, and said there is uncertainty over the Puja bonus and festival advance for ADC employees, demanding that they receive them like other government employees.

Questioning the ADC’s financial management, GMP leaders also spoke out about the budget approval process. How much each ADC department is to spend, and under which heads, is supposed to be decided through the budget, which must be discussed and approved in a council session, they said.

Radhacharan questioned whether any such budget session has been held in the ADC this financial year. They alleged that, without any budget session, a budget was simply sent by the Chief Executive Member and an allocation of about ₹500 crore has been shown on that basis.

If every head of the budget needs to be discussed and approved in a council session, how is such a large budget being implemented without that process, GMP leaders asked, demanding clarity on whether the rules were followed.

Alongside the financial crisis, the salary and pension arrears and the unpaid retirement dues, there must be transparency in how the budget is prepared and spent, they said. They demanded that it be made public how this year’s budget was prepared and approved, how much has been allocated under each head and how the money is being spent.

GMP also demanded employment opportunities for ordinary people during the festive season. Those who serve the public through government works all year round should at least be given wages and work during festivals, so that poor families get some financial relief and can share the joy of the festival with their families, the organisation said.

GMP leaders alleged that under the present government no special employment or income opportunities are created for the poor and working people during Durga Puja, Hojagiri, Sankranti or Christmas, and demanded government-led employment so that people have money in hand to celebrate.