Court directs staff to resume duties and Council to clear salaries
TURA: The High Court of Meghalaya on Wednesday issued an order directing the several hundred striking employees of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) to return to their work stations by Thursday even as the council authorities were directed to ensure their pending dues are cleared.
This came as a major boost for the ruling NPP alliance and a snub to the opposition Congress that had all along been calling for the removal of the party from the administration of the oldest autonomous body in Garo Hills.
The High Court has not taken lightly to the decision by the district council’s several hundred agitating employees to go on strike as the very same body was behind the petition to the judiciary seeking a redress to their long pending woes.
“I could not understand when the matter is sub-judice, on what basis and grounds the petitioners went on strike and disturbed the functioning of the Autonomous District Council,” questioned Justice SR Sen during the hearing on Wednesday.
The Court directed the agitators to withdraw the strike forthwith and join their respective work and not to create any disturbance in the functioning of the GHADC failing which the High Court directed the Meghalaya Chief Secretary, the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police, West Garo Hills, to take immediate legal action which may lead to coercive measure.
The NPP-led Executive Committee of the GHADC under Chief Executive Member Denang T Sangma has also been directed by the High Court to ensure that it clears the pending monthly salaries of its employees which have been delayed for over nine months.
The Executive Committee apprised the court about its decision taken on Monday wherein it was decided to pay the staff two months’ pending salaries each month, beginning September, until the previous backlog gets cleared.
Salaries of two months would be given every month until all previous monthly dues are cleared for the employees’ it had been decided at the EC meeting.
The High Court in its order has accepted the decision and directed the GHADC to ensure the employees get their two months dues every month, as per the recommendations of the EC, beginning from this month itself.
The Court has also directed that the association (NGEA) withdraw their agitation forthwith and resume work.
It has also directed the lawyer of the NGEA to file an affidavit before the court to inform whether the striking employees have withdrawn their agitation or not. The compliance of the court order has been listed for Thursday.
The high court ruling has come as a major boost for the ruling NPP led Garo Hills Progressive Alliance which was facing flak from not just its agitating employees demanding their dues but also the opposition Congress alliance in the GHADC.
Some of the Congress MDCs including the Independent MDC from Tura had lashed out at the current EC accusing them of failing to run the GHADC with charges of misappropriation and demands for direct administrator rule by the DC being made.
While the NPP led alliance made public the alleged illegal withdrawal of Rs 22 crore of the GHADC royalty from the State by the last Congress EC, it failed to cut any ice until the court stepped in to give its ruling on a case filed by the striking staff against the current EC.