Srinagar: Despite terming demands of Rehbar-e-Janglaat employees genuine, authorities are still feeling reluctant to absorb those employees permanently in the forest department due to reasons unknown for concerned parties.
In year 2017, the then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba assured the unemployed Forestry graduates of Jammu and Kashmir that the PDP-BJP coalition was going to end their decade-long trauma by introducing a new scheme “Rehbar-e-Janglaat” which would be absorbed in the Forest Department (Territorial) and 10 related departments as Range Officers (ROs), and later, hundreds of qualified youth were given jobs under this much hyped scheme. But now these ReJ employees have learned that the ‘Rehbar-e-Janglaat’ scheme is nothing but death without poison for them.
“How can we work at a place where our Orderlies will take Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 a month and we will be paid few thousand bucks?, questioned Shuja Andrabi, CMC, All J&K Rehbar-e-Janglaat employees.
Engaged under the direct recruitment scheme, in year 2017, these employee’s are now running pillar to post to get there issues heard.
“The all that we want is ‘Justice and equality’, keeping in view the justice already done in other Rehbar recruitment schemes,” said an employee (wished anonymity), who has completed M.Sc forestry.
“For the past 15 years we have been unable to make entry into the Jammy and Kashmir Forest department, owing to the fact that there is a lot of insufficiency in recruitment rules which don’t set the degree in Forestry discipline as an only eligibility for majority of the posts referred by the Forest department to the selection committees or boards,” said Shuja Andrabi.
With the result, employee’s working under this scheme have to even wait for months together sometimes to get their salaries, which makes them to face various hardships and brings them under metal stress for non availability of money for daily expenditures to run their families. Even some employee’s who are care takers of their old aged ailing parents can’t get required medicines for them due to non-availability of money.
“This has pushed a huge lot Forestry degree holders towards the wall,” Shuja added.
Despite the promises made by the Lt Governor and top most ministry in New Delhi many a times, but nothing has been done yet in this regard.
“On one hand government is claiming for its developments every now and then, but on the other hand employee’s like us who can bring about developments in ecology are without equal grade pay and equal post at par with other Rehbar policies,” said another employee Sajad Ahmad.
“Now the question is how long , the government will continue its biased approach towards this perticular cadre of Rehbar-e-Janglaat and how long we have to suffer and struggle for our basic rights which are enjoyed by all other employees of the state except us,” he added.
“Out of the all four implemented schemes like, Rehbar-e-Ziraat ,Rehbar-e-Kheel, Rehbar-e-Taleem in Jammu and Kashmir UT, so far Rehbar-e-Janglat policy stands distinct and irrational in terms of Pay Grade as well as the Post given under this policy to the unemployed Forestry technocrats, which is a huge disparity and discrimination beyond ones imagination,” media co-ordinator, ReJ, Shuja Andrabi said.
“I want to remind to the Govt that if they have done Justice to all other Rehbar recruitment policies in terms of Pay scale and post why such level of discrimination has been done in our case,” he added.
Narender Khujuria, additional secretary to CS, and Suhail Noor Shah, additional secretary didn’t bother to receive call, despite many attempts by GMK.
Sheetal Pandiata, under secretary to CS, when contacted, said, she has no knowledge about the issue, and asked this reporter to contact forest department for further information.
Good Morning Kashmir has reached out to Sarita Chowhan, Commissioner Secretary Forests, over phone and text messages but she has not responded yet. Good Morning Kashmir will update this story when she respond.
Through sources, Good Morning Kashmir came to know that a decision in this regard will be taken soon and all ReJ employee’s will be given equal pay and and equal post .
