The Delhi Cabinet on Wednesday approved several welfare and development measures, including a special policy to regularise Kashmiri migrant teachers, who have been working at Delhi government schools since 1994 on contract.
A total of 170 Kashmiri Pandit teachers had been given contract jobs in 1994-95 after they came to Delhi, displaced by the violence in Kashmir. These were supposed to be temporary jobs till they returned to their state. However, the Kashmiri migrant teachers have continued to work on contract all these years, demanding that they be given salaries and benefits of permanent appointees.
Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia said that the Cabinet had approved a special policy that would allow for regularisation of the Kashmiri migrant teachers.
‘One-time relaxation’
The Education Department’s proposal to give a one-time relaxation in the recruitment rules was passed by the Cabinet.
The teachers would be given a pass when it comes to the age limit, mode of direct recruitment and Central Teacher Eligibility Test that are imposed on other teachers who want to apply for permanent jobs.
The regularisation of the 170 Kashmiri teachers would cost the government about ₹13 crore annually, as per a statement.
“The decision was taken considering the fact that Kashmiri migrant teachers were appointed on a contract basis in special circumstances of displacement from the Valley due to political turmoil and have been working since last two decades,” the government statement said.
Apart from that, the Cabinet also approved the expansion of the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, which currently has 155 beds. The proposal for phase-II of the facility at a cost of ₹497.72 crore was passed by the Cabinet.
The number of beds at the institute would be increased to 549.
In addition to the beds, the plan includes setting up a super-specialty, teaching and training facility as well as a research section.
A semi-automated parking lot and a helipad would also be set up.
Audit on discoms
The Cabinet also approved the extension of the subsidy to domestic electricity consumers for 2017-18.
The subsidy, which covers 400 units per month per consumer, would cost the government ₹1,720 crore in the current financial year.
The Cabinet also decided that that Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission would be asked to carry out an audit of the subsidy amount given to power discoms to see how much of it is passed on to consumers.
The audit would be done by an external agency.
