Non cooperation enters 8th day

The non cooperation movement launched by government employees, teachers and workers of public sector undertakings in the Telangana region entered the eighth day today with both the government and employees refusing to relent.

Close to 300,000 employees across the 10 districts of the region had joined the non cooperation call given by the joint action committee of government employees on February 17 demanding introduction of the Bill in Parliament for separate statehood.

A cabinet sub-committee appointed by the state government had invited the leaders of JAC for talks on Monday but could not convince them to withdraw the agitation.

The state exchequer in the process has taken a hit. According to one estimate, the state government is suffering a revenue loss of at least Rs 100 crore every day because of the noncooperation movement.

 

“We may recover this unrealised income later as far as commercial taxes or stamps and registrations and other departments are concerned. But, the excise department is losing the income once and for all,” a government official told Business Standard.

The excise income, which is pegged at about Rs 7,500 crore for the current year, has been affected on account of stoppage of offtake of liquor from three depots run by the state beverages corporation, which controls the wholesale business. These depots have closed down due to the noncooperation movement.

The political JAC, which has been spearheading various forms of protests, today decided to organise a mammoth rally in the city in the first week of March by bringing people from all over the region. It is also planning to ask people to show their protests by squatting on railway tracks similar to the one held by the Gujjars in Rajasthan.

It is said that higher officials of the respective departments are waiting for the government to take a decision on either enforcing ‘no work no pay’ rule or other harsher measures after exhausting other options, to bring the employees back to work.

Reports of some ministerial staff in the district police superintendent (SP) office in neighbouring Medak district joining the ongoing protest on Thursday and similar incidents extending to other districts were promptly refuted by state police director general(DGP) Aravinda Rao.