1257 GTA employees receiving half salary ....Kanchenjunga Manpower being investigated by the CID.... Pay graft finger at Bimal

VIVEK CHHETRI, TT, 05 Dec 2018, Darjeeling: Binay Tamang, chairman of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), on Tuesday alleged that a manpower agency engaged during Bimal Gurung's tenure in the hill body was drawing Rs 9,000 per month per employee from GTA but was disbursing only around half the amount.

The graft charges could probably run into crores as a survey by the present GTA administration has revealed that 1257 employees had been engaged by the previous GTA board as "contingency manual" workers since late 2013.

"I would like to inform that during an audit, that was conducted after I took charge, it has been found that Rs 9000 was being drawn per employee per month but it is being said that the employees were being paid between Rs 1500 to Rs 5400, only," said Tamang.

The "contingency manual" workers, who have formed the GTA Insecure Employees Association, had earlier claimed that around 2700 had been employed under this head.

Even if one is to go by the 1257 employee figure and a conservative estimate of an anomaly of Rs 3600 is to be taken, there is mismatch of around Rs 45 lakh per month.

These employees were receiving salaries for the past three years.

Tamang said: "Without any government approval, Bimal Gurung employed workers in the GTA. To employ them he (Gurung) formed Kanchenjunga Manpower, an agency, which was run by his pointsman who is a resident of Rajbari and it is through this agency that the workers were paid." The present GTA chairman said that the fund from "GTA's own source of revenue" was used to pay these employees.

The workers, according to Tamang, were neither hired as contractual workers ­ whose job need to be renewed every six months, nor was any appointment/engagement letter given to them. "Kanchenjunga Manpower is being investigated by the CID," said Tamang.

A delegation of the "insecure employees" association on Tuesday met Tamang as they have not been receiving salaries for nearly a year now.

The GTA has formed a four-member verification committee, headed by GTA vice chairperson Anit Thapa, that will verify the documents of 1257 employees after which the hill body will fix a uniform remuneration for the employees.