AGARTALA, Sep 6 (TIWN): 23 year CPI-M rule robbed Tripura teachers their much deserved salaries/DAs as Manik Sarkar deprived Teachers, Govt employees salaries, DA(dearness allowance) from the Central Pay Commission recommendations. Tripura is the only state in Country where Govt teachers are paid less than one third of total salaries/DA than their counterparts in rest of India. Even though Manik uttered long lectures on teachers day at Agartala but in reality this lameduck CPI-M leader lacks basic respect and service to teachers in Tripura. From teachers to Govt. employees, all turned poorer to poorest during corruption ridden CPI-M rule. Even after High Court’s order, Manik Sarkar chose to deprive teachers by denying recommended DA and pay scales. Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal CM who kicked out CPI-M from West Bengal zone, not only has increased DA at Central level, but additionally she is providing many facilities to her govt. employees as well as opening scopes for industrialization. However, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar during his speech at Rabindra Satabrishiki Bhawan, said, “Teachers are responsible for making the school attractive for students. Teachers would create such environments in school so that students may get attached with the school deeply. Student-Teacher relation may work as a magnet to uplift the value-education”.

However, Chief Minister didn’t mention about various scandals, held under CPI-M regime including book publishing scams, mid-day-meal scams, NHM scam which yield to kill thousands of children with De-worming tablet, 10,323 teacher job recruitment scam. The issue of lack of teachers, backward infrastructure including classroom, fan, drinking water facility etc were also missing in CM’s speech. Putting all responsibilities on the teachers, CM was making a narrow escape from the issue of Teacher-Deprivation.

 “State Govt. doesn’t like to dictate or instruct the teachers as Teachers are most respectable personalities in the society”, CM ended with few such comments. However CM’s honey coated lines couldn’t make the teachers “HAPPY”, across the state who are paying less than half of the central pay scales.

Although CPI-M’s psychopath TGEA never had any problem with the poor salaries, but state govt. employees are statewide in deep frustration due to the poor pay scale, DA given to them.

Tripura HC in July month, asked Tripura Govt. to release 31% pending DA to the state govt. employees but Tripura Govt. challenging the High Court has appealed in Supreme court and managed a stay order in High Court’s verdict. Not only this, CPI-M started to collect donations, from the state gov't employees across the state so that govt. can pay the Lawyer to fight against Tripura HC.

 Recently(14th July)  4% DA has been released by the state government though  42% is still pending and about the 7^th Pay Commission, Tripura CM already sent letter to PM that for such a poor NE state like Tripura it’s not practically possible to give full DA.

Manik Sarkar since the beginning planwise has been deprived the govt. employees without any relief till day.  Sarkar invented ‘fixed pay’ scale to the employees, without GPF, HRA, CA and even Medical Allowance.

When the state govt releases Dearness Allowances to its employees, the fixed pay employees are given mere Rs 38/- per 1% DA( Group C) and Rs 23/- per 1% DA to the Group D employees. 

During the entire services life a state govt employee, who is appointed as Fixed Pay for five years( after which he gets regular pay scale) is suffering from huge financial loss. Loss for the Fixed Pay employees during their 5 years term  is shown  below:-

1) LDC/UGT/Work Assistant ..............Rs 39.75 lakh

2) Graduate Teacher ...........................Rs 52.5 lakh

3) Post Graduate Teacher ..................Rs 55 .

   In 1982 the first LF Govt under Nripen Chakraborty appointed 200 teachers on fixed pay.  Getting a complaint from the then CPI-M Central Committee member Ajay Biswas ,  CPI(M) Central Committee leaders like Jyoti Basu and EMS Nambudripad instructed Nripen Chakraborty to immediately regularize the 200 employees appointed as fixed pay stating that such type of employment is against the Rule 112 of the Constitution of the Communist Party of India( Marxist) . Thus, with in two months of their recruitment Nripen Chakraborty was forced to regularize  them . After this during his entire tenure as Chief Minister Nripen Chakraborty and his LF Govt did not recruit any employee on fixed pay ( up to 1988).

 However, the 14th Finance Commission has allocated a total budget of 31308.76 crore for Tripura. Out of which  fund for Salary and Wages is   6463.47 crores and fund for Pension Benefit is  837.75 crore.

  Manik led CPI-M gov't in a very organised way campaigned about 13th Finance Commission's deprivation to Tripura.  But being  a Special Category State Tripura got Rs 7411.50 crore from 13th Finance Commission (for the year 2010-2015) compare to 12th Finance Commission's sanction of Rs 2626.09cr as part of its share of Central Tax. Thus, 13th Finance Commission  sanctioned 182% more than what the 12th Finance Commission did.

 Even in Non-plan fund 13th Finance Commission has given Tripura Rs 1263 crore compare to Rs 296 of the 12th Finance Commission an increase of 326%.

 As Gap Grant from 13th Commission Tripura got Rs 240.79 cr more (13th Finance Commission considered state's own earning as Rs 4484.24cr though state govt submitted the report saying the earning as Rs 4728.93cr ). But state gov't remained on its meticulously designed plan ; there by the employees in Tripura are now having the Poorest Salary Structure and Pay Band in India.

So, although CM claimed high in Teacher’s Day-2016 and advised a lot to the poor paid teachers, but Chief Minister’s claims could not be digested by Poor Teachers of the state. Under Manik Sarkar’s regime, apart from Nil-Industrialization, unemployment, poverty CPI-M couldn’t provide anything to the people.