Appointment of labour inspectors
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The delay in the appointment of labour inspectors in all the 39 blocks in the State has raised a major question over the State Government’s sincerity in implementing the work permit system in the State.
Deputy Chief Minister in charge of Labour department, Rowell Lyngdoh, on Wednesday informed that the appointment of labour inspectors in all the blocks is still under examination by both the Planning and Finance departments.
However, the delay has come as a surprise to many since Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma, in September last year, had made the commitment that the Government was contemplating to make these appointments through a Single Window Clearance (SWC) to speed up the whole process.
The Chief Minister had also said that Chief Secretary WMS Pariat had been shouldered with the responsibility of preparing the modalities for the SWC.
Lyngdoh, meanwhile, maintained that it would be difficult to implement the work permit system in Meghalaya without the appointment of the labour inspectors.
When asked about the progress in the registration of labourers in the State under the Inter-State Workmen Regulation Act, 1979 (Amended in 1985), Lyngdoh said that he had not received any report about the same till date.
“I have only been informed by the various deputy commissioners that they are trying their level best to see that the individual contractors comes forward to register the labourers employed under them. As per the Act, the contractors who employ more than five persons have to register their employees with the Government,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.
He, however, admitted that with only one labour inspector in each district it is extremely difficult to carry out this exercise.
It may be recalled that the State Government had issued a notification on September 15 last for registration of all the migrant labourers in the State.
