SHILLONG, June 3: Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) Chief Executive Member (CEM), Shemborlang Rynjah, on Tuesday said that the Executive Committee’s decision to terminate the services of 13 employees and to discontinue the regular appointment of another 30 was taken because the posts were not sanctioned.
Addressing media persons here, Rynjah said that one of the new Executive Committee’s first steps was to form a committee to streamline and improve the council’s functioning. As the in-charge of the Establishment Department, he stated that after initiating the formation of this committee, it came to their attention that 43 individuals had been appointed without proper authorisation.
Following five committee sittings, it was recommended to the Executive Committee that the services of 13 newly appointed employees be terminated. The committee also advised that the regular employment of the remaining 30 should be discontinued.
Rynjah, however, informed that the EC decided to allow these 30 individuals to continue working as casual employees. “This decision was made after we found that all 43 appointments were made without sanctioned posts. The appointments of the 13 employees took place in July and December last year,” he said.
Noting that the KHADC is currently facing a severe financial crunch, he described the decision as a necessary austerity measure to ease the council’s financial burden.
Rynjah added that each of the 43 employees had received individual letters informing them of the decision, leaving no room for doubt or confusion. “If we had followed the service rules strictly, the situation would have been worse,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, Executive Member in charge of the Development Department, Powell Sohkhlet, stated that the KHADC pays casual employees from the 5% service charge on funds allocated by the 15th Finance Commission. He further explained that the commission had clearly stipulated that this fund should be used to pay contractual employees, mainly for field visits and office work.
He, however, pointed out that the current casual employees are only assigned tasks related to schemes sanctioned under the 15th Finance Commission.
Earlier, around 27 employees of the KHADC met with the CEM, seeking clarification regarding a recent EC order that reclassified them as casual workers despite their services having been regularised earlier.
Speaking to reporters, some of the affected employees expressed disappointment and stated that not only were they demoted, but a few among them also had their services terminated by the current EC.
They revealed that the CEM had rejected their appeal for reinstatement as permanent staff, telling them that they no longer had a future in the council.
Additionally, they pointed out that the council had not publicly advertised any vacancies for several years.
They argued that if fairness is to be upheld, the EC should terminate all employees, as none were recruited through a formal selection process.