Hydel companies violating 70 per cent Himachali code: CPM

Shimla, June 24: The Himachal Pradesh unit of the CPM today condemned a private company management executing the Chamera stage-III project in Chamba district of the state for alleged murder of three CITU workers on June 10.

The state committee of the party at its meeting, which concluded here today, alleged that the said company with ''dubious record'' was creating an atmosphere of terror, while denying the workers their due.

Briefing mediapersons after the meeting, party secretary, Rakesh Singha, said the three CITU leaders were killed on June 10 and were fighting for the cause of the workers.

He said the labour laws were blatantly violated by the company at the project site, besides being denied double overtime, 20 per cent additional tunnel allowance, pay slips and appointment letters to workers and added that the company was not even paying the wages regularly.

The workers had not been paid wages for the past four months and only wheat and rice were provided to them for subsistence, he alleged.

Mr Singha said the companies were openly flouting the mandatory provision for recruiting at least 70 per cent local workers and preferring outsiders to foil any attempt by workers to organise them for fighting for their rights.

He said it was strange that the state police had not arrested the officers of the company named in the FIR even after the rejection of their anticipatory bail plea by the court.

The party would continue to fight for the rights of the workers and ensure that the workers were not terrorised or intimidated by goons hired by the construction companies, he said.

The CPI(M) has demanded immediate relief of Rs 10 lakh to the next of the kin of the three CITU leaders killed in the attack on June 10. The state committee also expressed grave concern over rising prices and failure of the Centre and the state governments to check unprecedented rise in prices of essential commodities.

Holding the government fully responsible for price rise, the state committee said the collapse of public distribution system and forward trading in essential commodities had jacked up the prices.

Further, the ruinous economic policies of the Centre and state government had worsened the situation and instead of saving the economy from the rot, the government was planning to hire outside advertising agency to cover up its failures.

Mr Singha described the claims of government of providing 35,000 jobs in various government departments as an eye-wash and said 22,000 out of these would be meagerly paid anganwadi workers and helpers.

The government had already abolished a large number of posts after adoption of fiscal responsibility and budgetary management act to compress non-plan expenditure, which was affecting developmental activities.

UNI