PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The officiating president of the Uttarakhand Purva Sainik Kalyan Nigam Limited (UPNL) federation of employees, Mahesh Bhatt, stated that the State government should specify a timeline for the policy implementation regarding the regularisation of employees in Uttarakhand. He said this following an announcement by chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami about a comprehensive policy intended for the regularisation of employees working under outsourcing and departmental contracts through UPNL in government departments.
Notably, for many years, UPNL employees have been demanding the regularisation of their services. They have even approached the Uttarakhand High Court in the past and in 2018, the High Court issued a directive on “equal pay for equal work.” Consequently, the State government appealed to the Supreme Court, challenging the order. However, the SC dismissed the appeal and directed the State government to ensure that such employees receive the same pay as their regular counterparts. The government later filed a special leave petition in the SC on the issue.
Bhatt commented on Dhami’s recent announcement, expressing appreciation as the federation president. However, he pointed out that the announcement lacks a designated timeframe for the policy’s implementation. He said that while the government has announced a policy, it has not specified when it will take effect. He highlighted that they have been advocating for their demands since 2018, and as of 2025, no action has been taken on these demands. Bhatt recalled that when Dhami was an MLA, he had presented their demands to the chief secretary, but no action followed.
He urged the government to declare a timeline for when the policy for UPNL workers will be developed and implemented; otherwise, it will be similar to past announcements that were never executed. He said that they plan to approach the CM in the next two to three days to discuss the announcement of a timeline for their policy.
