UP Jal Nigam to release pay for unpaid staffers after furore over Rs 1.47 cr Covid aid to CM

UP Jal Nigam had come under fire for donating Rs 1.47 crore to CM's Covid-19 fund even though its 24,000 staffers & pensioners remain unpaid for 3 months.

Urban Development Minister Ashutosh Tandon handing over the cheque to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Also seen is Jal Nigam MD Vikas Gothalwal (centre)  | Twitter: @myogioffice

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh (UP) Jal Nigam has decided to release the February pay arrears for employees after it came under fire for contributing Rs 1.47 crore to the state Covid fund even though it hasn’t paid salaries for three months.

The decision was taken hours after the matter came to light following a report by ThePrint, which was followed up by several media organisations.

The move to release February salaries was conveyed through a press note issued by the Jal Nigam Thurday evening. The water board has also said that the salaries for March and April, which remain unpaid as well, will be released soon.

On 27 April, the UP Jal Nigam had donated Rs 1.47 crore to the chief minister’s Covid-19 relief fund via demand draft. Senior officials of the Nigam, including MD Vikas Gothalwal, had claimed that this sum was put together by deducting a day’s pay from the February salaries of the Jal Nigam’s over 24,000 employees and pensioners.

However, employee associations soon went on the record to claim that the pay was deducted without their permission, and that they hadn’t been paid at all since February.

‘We hope March, April pay comes soon too’

Talking to ThePrint, UP Jal Nigam Employees Federation convenor Ajay Pal Somvanshi said the order for release of salaries and pensions was issued after the matter was widely reported by the media and went viral on social media. 

“We hope that the salaries for March and April will also be released soon. All the pensioners, already scared because of the coronavirus pandemic, were facing severe problems because they hadn’t been paid their dues,” he added. 

The employees’ main objection with the donation was, how was the Jal Nigam able to make the contribution when it hadn’t paid salaries to the employees for three months? When approached for comment for the report published Wednesday, MD Gothalwal had said that salaries had been an issue for one year and they were trying to resolve the matter.

He reiterated the concerns in Thursday’s press note, saying the Jal Nigam is trying to boost its income.