Principal Advisor (Media) to the Chief Minister, Naresh Chauhan has urged to the Himachal Pradesh Government Primary Teacher’s Association to call off their ongoing protest. He assured that the establishment of the new directorate would not affect the promotions of primary teachers in any way.
Only the administrative control has been assigned to the Principals and this would have no bearing on promotions at any level. He further stated that Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has already issued necessary instructions to the Education Department in this regard. Hence, the teachers must call off the agitation.
Naresh Chauhan said that the present state government was committed to the welfare of its employees and was consistently taking decisions in their interest. He said that under the leadership of Chief Minister, the present state government showed firm resolve by restoring the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for 1.36 lakh government employees in its very first Cabinet meeting.
In contrast, the previous BJP government had subjected protesting employees demanding OPS to police action. Despite the Central Government’s retaliatory measures such as a reduction of Rs. 1,600 crore in grants to Himachal Pradesh, a lowered borrowing limit and the imposition of various restrictions the state government honoured its commitment and restored the OPS.
Additionally, the present government has released 14 percent Dearness Allowance during its two-year tenure. He said that the government would continue to safeguard the interests of its employees in the times to come.
Nurturing Creativity – Keekli Charitable Trust, Shimla
