CM Omar Abdullah announces committee on the issue of daily wagers in J&K

Jammu, Mar 11 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday announced the formation of a committee to address the issue of regularisation of daily wagers in Jammu and Kashmir and said that a roadmap will be prepared for its presentation in the next budget session before the House.

This announcement was made by the chief minister while replying to the motion of thanks on the budget address in the Assembly.

“We want to reassure the daily-rated workers, ad hoc, and casual workers that we have not forgotten them. I am announcing the committee in front of the Assembly, headed by the Chief Secretary, and will be issuing the official order today after my budget speech,” Abdullah told the House.

He said that it will have the Additional Chief Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office, along with the Secretaries of the Planning, GAD and Law Departments as members, and it will be the responsibility of the chief secretary.

“The committee will be given six months to thoroughly review the number of daily wagers through GAD and assess the legal and financial aspects of their regularisation,” he added.

He said that the Law Department has a prime role after the Supreme Court’s judgment on the issue.

“They will be asked to prepare a framework within six months. They should fix the figures. After assessing all aspects, including legal and financial, they should prepare a roadmap on how to proceed so that in the next budget session, I can stand before you and say, ‘This is what we are going to do,'” he said.

Earlier in the day, BJP members staged a walkout from the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly following a ruckus, as the saffron party and National Conference (NC) members engaged in verbal duels over widespread protests, cane charges and detentions of daily wage employees from the Jal Shakti Department. The workers were demanding the release of their wages and regularisation.

There are an estimated 67,000 daily wagers in various categories in Jammu.