Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The employees of the Assam State Agriculture Marketing Board (ASAMB) staged a protest at their office in Guwahati on Monday demanding that their salaries which have been pending for the last several months be cleared immediately. The general secretary of the Agriculture Marketing Board Employees Association, Dilip Kumar Roy pointed out the key reasons leading to this protest.
Dilip Kumar Roy informed, “The Assam State Agriculture Marketing Board was formed in 1976 under the Assam Agricultural Produce Market Act of 1972 and a cess collected by the Board allowed for the payment of the salaries of the employees and the other necessary costs of the organisation. But on 15 June 2022, the Assam Government took a decision to prevent the collection of this Cess, and announced that the salaries of these employees would be made through budget allocations.”
“Over the last 3 years, the Assam Government has been providing a certain amount of funding, but they have also added additional duties like regulation of MSP of paddy, mustard seeds and millet (Ragi) as well as the wholesale of urea,” he added.
He said, “In the 2023-34 financial year, a proposal of Rs 90.03 Cr was given to the government for the payment of regular salaries, arrears and other payments. But the government allocated only Rs 40.50 Cr with Rs 30.50 Cr towards the payment of salaries in three instalments and Rs 10 Cr towards VRS. But this amount made for only 6 months of salaries and 13 months of salary remained in arrears. In FY 2024-25, a budget proposal of Rs 130 Cr was sent to the government, but only Rs 30.50 Cr was allocated by the government making for just 6 months of salaries and at the end of the FY 2024-25, the employees will have salaries of 18 months as pending.”
The Agriculture Marketing Board Employees Association staged this protest demanding regularisation of their salary. They also mentioned that they had submitted memorandums to the departmental minister and senior officials regarding their problems, but no heed was paid to their demands. They also threatened more severe protests if their salaries were not cleared immediately.
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