Orissa Agricultural Services Association threatens to agitate

Bhubaneswar, Apr 6 (UNI) Around 1,400 Agriculture Officers under the banner of Orissa Agricultural Services Association(OASA) today threatened to stop work and go on a mass leave from May 8 next if their four-point charter of demands were not conceded to by then.

OASA General Secretary Guru Prasad Tripathy told newspersons here that the members would wear black badges from April 20 and would go on pen down strike from May 2.

If the government did not fulfil their demands even then they would stop work and go on mass leave from May 8, the Akshaya Trutiya Day, the beginning of the Agriculture operation in the state.

The Association also decided to boycott the Akshaya Trutiya function, Mr Tripathi said.

The Association demanded to treat the Agriculture Officers at par with the Technocrats in departments like Engineering, Veterinary and Medical, revise their pay scales and redesignate their posts.

The OASA demanded that the pay scale of the Junior Agriculture Officer be revised from the existing Rs5,500--9000 to Rs 6500--10500 and to redesignate the post as Agriculture Development Officer.

They also demanded the pay scales of Assistant Agriculture Officer (AAO) and Subject Matter Specialist(SMS)be revised and fixed at Rs 8000-13,500 at par with the Assistant Surgeons and Veterinary Assistant Surgeons instead of Rs6500-10,500 now. They also demanded the designation of AAO and SMS be changed to Senior Agriculture Development Oficer.

Change of designation of District Agriculture Officer and Additional Agriculture Officer to Sub-Divisional Agriculture Officer and enhancement of their pay scale from the existing Rs 8000-13,500 to Rs 9350-1450 and posting of 30 Joint Directors of Agriculture in the scale of Rs 10,650 to 15,850 be posted as heads of Agriculture Department in all the 30 districts of the state in the designation of Chief District Agriculture Officer were their other demands.

UNI BD LL DB1610