High Court Gives Odisha Govt Two Days To Clear Salary Dues In Two Colleges

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has directed the Principal Secretary of Higher Education to resolve the grant-in-aid salary and other payments of teachers and staff of two colleges in Kalahandi and Nabarangpur districts within two days.

Notably, the teachers and staff of Indravati Degree College at Jaipatna in Kalahandi district and Indravati Project College in Nabarangpur district had filed a writ petition in the HC in 2010 with regard to the non-payment of the salary and other payments in accordance with the Grant-In-Aid (GIA) Rules, 1994 by the Higher Education Department.

Admitting the petition, the court in an order on April 16, 2015, had directed the Higher Education Department to consider the case in favour of the petitioners and take a decision accordingly at the earliest.

But as the department did not carry out the court order, the petitioners had filed a contempt of court case. Later, replying to the court order, the department said that the salary and other payments of the staff of these two colleges will be provided as per the GIA Rules, 2014.

Taking strong exception to the violation of its earlier directive, the High Court had issued show-cause notices to the Higher Education secretary time and again and asked him to personally appear in the court.

However, finally responding to the court order, Principal Secretary of Higher Education Saswat Mishra appeared in person before a single bench of Justice BR Sarangi on Wednesday and assured the bench to resolve the issue in two days.

The bench directed him to again appear in person and submit an affidavit relating to the execution of the earlier order of the court in the next hearing on April 6.