Wages unpaid, Jal Nigam staff pitches for change

Some say things got worse under SP rule, feel Mayawati might do better

A major project implementing agency, the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam (UPJN), is unable to pay salaries to employees regularly. The Nigam is the principal implementing agency for river pollution control projects in the state.

“The work is happening briskly but our salaries do not arrive on time,” said an employee of the Nigam here. Several employees confirmed the pay cycle was running on a two-month delay. The employees, which includes hundreds of engineers, recently received their January pay.

“Festivals and summer vacations of our children are coming. How are we supposed to manage the household?,” asked another senior employee, frustrated at the disarray their lives have been put in. 

The employees said the efforts by unions have not yielded any results and they were looking forward to the elections. “Mayawati (leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party) should come back. Under her rule, we never had this situation. She has assured us that she would not allow this in future,” said a junior staff member.  He was also impressed with her promises to end the alleged “goondaism” in the state and giving back land and property forcefully taken away to the original owners, he added.

His senior colleague claimed the Samajwadi Party (SP) would be taught a lesson in the elections. “The alliance (with the Congress) is not going to work. BSP will form the government with support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),” he said. 

UPJN is a corporation floated by the state government to manage water supply and sewerage. It is governed by the UP Water Supply and Sewerage Act, 1975, and falls under the administrative control of the urban development ministry. SP’s Azamgarh strongman Mohammad Azam Khan is the minister. It has nearly 4,000 engineers and skilled workforce on its rolls, according to details on its website. The total number of employees, including administrative and support staff, could be even higher. Currently, the Nigam is overseeing construction of two new sewerage treatment plants that will significantly cut untreated water from going into Ganga, besides maintaining three existing facilities. 

An email sent to the urban development ministry with a copy to the managing director of UPJN on Wednesday did not get a response.

Though the corporation is not part of the government, it is entirely dependent on the government as it is the body’s only revenue source. Officials said UPJN receives a “centage” for its services in maintaining water supply, sewerage treatment plants and pollution control initiatives. It is fixed at 12.5 per cent of the government’s earnings from these services.

“This is used to pay salaries. The government has to pay. There is no other way,” said a senior engineer of the Nigam. He took solace from the fact that the backlog has narrowed down to two months from four-five months earlier. “Maybe if the new government comes situation will change.”