Pay anomaly: Service, Commercial Tax depts threaten agitation

Madurai, Jan 29 (PTI) Tamil Nadu Development ServiceOfficers'' Association along with officials of CommercialsTaxes and Cooperative Departments today threatened to launchan agitation if the government did not take steps to remove''vast anomalies'' in their pay structure.

A joint action counil (JAC) was formed today to take uptheir demands. The officers are protesting "vast anomalies inpay structure" in the recommendations made by the one-mancommission that was instituted to fix anomalies of the SixthPay Commission recommendations.

They alleged that the Rajeev Ranjan commission had notremoved the disparities in the pay structure, but had broughtin more anomalies. They said the one-man commission had fixedthe basic pay of the Joint Directors (JDs) of AnimalHusbandry, Health and Agriculture departments in the Rs37,400-67,000 range, which was almost double that of officialsof the same cadres working in the departments of RuralDevelopment and Commercial Taxes.

JAC General Secretary M Prabhakar rejected the contentionof the government that JDs had been given better pay becausethey were technically better equipped, saying "in that case, aChief Engineer should get more pay than the Chief Secretary".

Prabhakar said that as there were only about 100 JointRegistrars, 75 Joint Directors (Rural Development), 150 DROsand 50 Group I Commercial taxes officers, the governmentshould not find it difficult to revise their pay and fix it onpar with the JDs of Animal Husbandry, Health and Agriculture.

He said the JAC would be forced to launch an agitation ifthe government did not take immediate steps to remove theanomalies. They planned to meet the Chief Minister to try andfind a solution, he said.