Assam State Primary Teachers' Association Oppose 'No Electricity Bill, No Salary' Move

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Assam State Primary Teachers' Association (ASPTA) has opposed the State government's decision of not releasing the salaries of the employees until they submit their electricity bills.

In a statement, ASPTA president Anwar Hussain and general secretary Ratul Goswami stressed that the teachers are being targeted with this decision.

"Recently, involvement of various industries in power theft has come to light. Moreover, several departments of the State government have to clear power dues of around Rs 106 crore to the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB). At this time, the Block Elementary Education Officers (BEEOs) are sending notices to the teachers to pay their electricity bills. However, the BEEOs themselves are yet to clear their power dues. The electricity bills come under the name of the head of the family. In this situation, how will all the teachers prove that they have paid the bills? The BEEOs are also aware of this situation," said ASPTA president Anwar Hussain.

ASPTA general secretary Ratul Goswami added that if the ASEB has records of the teachers who have not paid their bills then they should submit the details to the Education Department.

"Strict action should be taken against the teachers who have not cleared their bills. But we are confident that the primary teachers are paying their bills on time. Thus, it is disrespect to the ones who are regularly paying their bills," said Goswami.

Further, the ASPTA members expressed dissatisfaction over the government's decision to ascertain the vaccination status of the employees before releasing their salaries.

They underlined that many teachers have not been able to take the vaccination due to health reasons. The body also appealed to all the teachers to get the vaccine jab at the earliest.

Also Read: Consumers Who Fail to Register their Mobile Number with APDCL May Be Barred from Electricity