Combined Technical Association of Nagaland demands termination of contract employees in PHE department

KOHIMA — The Combined Technical Association of Nagaland (CTAN) has demanded the termination of nine employees in the Department of Public Health Engineering, who were appointed on a contract basis in contravention of the government’s 2016 memorandum.

The contractual employees include eight junior engineers and one programme officer appointed after the June 6, 2016 memorandum came into effect.

CTAN, in a letter addressed to the chief engineer of PHED, on Tuesday, highlighted the Personnel and Administrative Reforms (P&AR) memorandum of June 6, 2016, that explicitly bans ad-hoc, casual, or temporary appointments.

“We demand your office to terminate the contract appointees,” it demanded, arguing that these positions should have been filled through proper channels, specifically by requisitioning them through the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC).

The association’s stance is further bolstered by a Right to Information (RTI) reply received on March 30, 2024, which confirmed that the appointments were made after the memorandum’s implementation.

“The Department must not make excuses of shortage of manpower and practice illegal appointments as the NPSC Rule no. 9(4) (State, Civil & other services) clearly states that every Department must send requisition of vacancies likely to arise in the next 12 months”, it added.

The association has set a 30-day deadline for the termination of the contracts, warning that they will publicly expose the names of the individuals involved and pursue further action if their demands are not met.

Meanwhile, CTAN Convenor Meshenlo Kath expressed disappointment over the PHED’s continued practice of backdoor appointments.

‘Despite the association’s fight against the backdoor appointment, the department went ahead with the appointment of services on contract and their contracts are given extension every year’, he told Eastern Mirror.

All nine appointments were made after June 6, 2016, and in different years. Some of their appointments were made in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023, he said.

Kath went on to say that the association does not require any reaction from the department, except for the termination of services for the nine contractual employees.

‘Despite so many complaints from pressure groups like us, if they are continuing the backdoor appointment, why should we wait for their response’, he added.

He also said that CTAN is not concerned about grade-IV posts but the gazetted posts ‘should not be touched’ as it disheartens the aspirants to a great extent.

It is worth mentioning that the Department of Soil and Water Conservation has recently terminated two ‘illegal’ appointees in the directorate after the CTAN had brought up the matter and protested against it.