Shimla: Having attained statehood in January, 1971 but not having established an independent pay commission was pointed out by the High Court today, with directions issued to the chief secretary to take steps for setting up one and report back in three months.
The ruling came in a bunch of petitions before the bench of Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice DD Sud, where employees have been demanding pay scales on the pattern of Punjab.
The courts curt order to the chief secretary directs, “to take steps to have an independent pay commission for the state of Himachal Pradesh, so as to have pay scales in the state appropriately fixed and rationalized.â€
Before posting the cases for 21st March, 2012, the court allowed time for filing a detailed reply with the directions that steps in this regard shall be taken within three months from today.
Before passing the orders, the court observed, “It is now more than 40 years since the state of HP was formed. We are informed that there has not been a pay commission as far as HP is concerned.â€
Earlier, in response to the petitions, the government counsel had submitted that the HP government by and large follows Punjab government pay scales, but Punjab scales are not automatically applicable in the hill state.
The government also took the stand in court that it was an independent state and only their orders were applicable on its employees.
“No one can claim a pay scale just on the basis of order issued by the Punjab government,†the government affidavit in court mentions.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.
Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.
