180 Darjeeling admin employees and 80 percent of the total 8,000 employees to face pay cut

MP  |  31 July 2017 11:26 PM |  Kolkata: Salary of around 180 employees in the offices under Darjeeling district administration will be deducted as they had not be attending office during the bandh called by Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) in the Hills for an indefinite period. 

Similarly, around 80 percent of the total 8,000 employees in the Gorkha Territorial Administration were not turning up in the office.

Only the top officers remained present. So the salary slips of the employees are also yet to be prepared as the person who prepares it is also absent, sources in the state secretariat said.

On June 11, the state government had issued a memorandum stating that no leave shall be granted, apart from emergency cases, to any employee during the strike. 

It was mentioned in the memorandum that: "In view of call given by GJM for indefinite period on and from June 12 it has been decided that all state government officers situated in the districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong including those provided with grants-in-aid would remain open and all the employees of those officers should report for duty on each day till the call for such bandh is not withdrawn. 

It has also been decided that no leave shall be granted to any employee on any of these bandh days". 

The tension in the Hills had broke out on June 8 after the Cabinet meeting led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held in Darjeeling and the GJM had given a call for a bandh for an indefinite period on June 12. 

Sources said that a communiqué in connection with the deduction of salary has already been sent to the district magistrate of Darjeeling from the state secretariat. 

It is learnt that some of the employees had skipped their offices for four to five days and some remained absent for even more. 

The district administration has prepared the list accordingly and it has again been forwarded to the state Finance department.