UP regularises 5,000 contract workers

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday approved regularisation of over 5,000 contractual employees who were recruited during 1991-1996.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, an official spokesman here said.

The cabinet also approved the supplementary budget that will be presented in the state assembly during the session that has been convened later this week.

Besides, Bollywood movie 'Drishyam', starring Tabu and Ajay Devgn, has also been declared tax-free in the state.

Among other decisions, the state cabinet amended the rules for the Begum Akhtar awards and approved the Rs.1,900-4,200 pay grade scale for the fourth class employees of the secretariat.

The BJP, however, targetted the Samajwadi Party (SP) government and said that in the current year's budget, many important departments have not been able to spend even 10 percent of the earlier allocation, making it meaningless to go in for supplementary budget.

"It is yet another mockery by the Akhilesh Yadav government and they should realise that very soon they will have to face questions by the people," Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak said.

Reacting to BJP's charges, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said all questions raised by the opposition party will be answered in the assembly.