J-K govt planning to regularise PHE workers: Minister

The Jammu and Kashmir government was planning to regularise Public Health Engineering (PHE) workers engaged till 2005, a state minister said today.
"The government will explore possibilities to regularise PHE workers in a phased manner," Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Sham Lal Sharma, said while addressing a gathering at a function organised in Akhnoor on the occasion of May Day.
"After the adjustment of all those engaged up to 2005, a well-knit strategy will be devised to absorb such workers who were engaged after 2005 and till 2009," he added.
Sharma said authentic information about the number of such workers who are on regular role after 2005 is being collected and efforts are afoot to keep a provision of their regular wages.

Describing PHE workers as real work force for maintaining water installations and regulating water supply across the state, the minister said that government will protect their rights besides ensuring justice to them.
"Government will ensure regular disbursement of wages to all workers who have been engaged up to 2005 in PHE Department on a uniform pattern," he said.
Rubbishing speculations about the disengagement of daily rated workers in PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control department, the Minister said, "Government cannot afford to disengage them as they are manning the essential services."
Sharma, however, cautioned the officers to be more careful in future while engaging any worker on new scheme.