Commission upset over Raj govt's ignorance to 'Safai Karamcharis'

Jaipur, Apr 11 (UNI) The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis has taken serious exception to Rajasthan government's non-compliance to its directives for welfare of Safai Karamcharis which included filling of their 8500 vacancies.

Addressing a press conference here today the Commission chairperson Santosh Choudhary said the state government had showed ''total apathy'' for the welfare of these poor people and failed to implement the Commission's directives issued to it one year ago.

She said there was a backlog of about 8500 posts of Safai Karamcharis in the state and the Commission during its visit to Jaipur in April 2007 had directed the government to fill up these posts on priority basis.

Ms Choudhary said the Commission had also found a number of lapses and lacunae in implementation of various schemes for the welfare of Safai Karamcharis and it had directed the state government to address those areas and take steps for appropriate action.

However, the state government, even after the lapse of a year, had neither cleared the backlog nor implemented other directives issued by the Commission during its previous visit.

She said even directives for issuance of basic working kits like gloves, mask and uniform were not implemented and the the poor employees were working under unsafe and unhygienic conditions.

She said ''about 100 karamcharis died in service during the past one year or so and I feel that the state government's apathy for due workable facilities, medical assistance and check up is responsible for the deaths.'' She said the backlog of 8500 Safai Karmacharis' posting did exist but the government was outsourcing sanitation to private contractors who were paying inadequate wages to these poor people.

Ms Choudhary said compliance of directives and clearing of the existing backlog was obligatory on the part of the government and she had now directed the state government to ensure the compliance by next two months.

She expressed her satisfaction over the compliance of the Commission's directives by the state governments in other states in the country.

She said in other states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Maharashtra, the concerned state government had responded to the Commission's directives and did their best to implement the same.

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