WBSSC recruitment case: Bengal govt issues notification on stipend for non-teaching staff losing jobs

Kolkata, May 23 (IANS) The West Bengal labour department, on Friday, issued a notification on the launch of a new scheme under which the non-teaching staff in state-run schools in the state under Group-C and Group-D categories, losing jobs following a recent order of the Supreme Court, can be provided with a monthly stipend from the state exchequer.

The scheme, christened ‘West Bengal Livelihood and Special Security Interim Scheme’, was cleared at a meeting of the state cabinet on May 14, and finally, the state labour department, on Friday, issued an official notification regarding the same.

Under the scheme, the job-losing Group-C staff would be entitled to a monthly stipend of Rs 25,000, while those in the Group D category would be entitled to Rs 20,000 monthly. Those covered under the scheme will be entitled to receive the monthly stipends with effect from April 1 this year, and this payment will continue until the legal hassles regarding their loss of jobs are resolved.

Earlier this month, after the state cabinet cleared the proposal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee explained that the scheme has been planned under the jurisdiction of the state labour department because of the tendencies of some people and vested interests to file public interest litigations at the Calcutta High Court against any decision of the state government.

However, already, such a petition has been filed at Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice Amrita Sinha challenging the scheme and describing such payments as illegal. Justice Sinha’s bench has admitted the petition.

On April 3 this year, the Supreme Court’s division bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld a previous order by the Calcutta High Court’s division bench of Justice Debangshu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi cancelling 25,753 school jobs in West Bengal.

The apex court also accepted the observation of the Calcutta High Court that the entire panel of 25,753 candidates had to be cancelled because of the failure of the state government and the commission to segregate the “untainted” candidates from the "tainted" ones.

The state government and West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) had already filed review petitions at the apex court on this issue.

--IANS

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