Raj govt rapped over non-payment of wages

The Rajasthan High Court has come down heavily on the state government for its failure to clear wages of the employees of a municipal council for the past three years, resulting in the death of one of its workers allegedly due to starvation.

Holding the government guilty of misadministration, Justice Mohammed Rafiq directed it to immediately release arrears, amounting to over Rs 65 lakh, of 30 employees of Rajkheda Municipal council in Dholpur district.

The court was hearing a petition filed by the employees in 2008, who had alleged that their salaries, provident fund and LIC instalments had not been paid for the last three years.

Irked by the government counsel's argument that the petitioners should have approached designated authorities under the Payment of Wages Act within time, the court rapped the government and said it is a case of “malfunctioning of the administration”.

It also took serious note of the state government's failure to file a reply to the petition in the last two years.

“The government is directed to release special grant-in- aid for helping employees, if so required,” the court ruled.