Uttarakhand Van Vikas Nigam Karmchari Sangh alleges corruption, delayed retirement dues
PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE / Dehradun
The Uttarakhand Van Vikas Nigam Karmchari Sangh (UVVNKS) on Monday alleged widespread corruption, employee harassment and an authoritarian functioning of the management of the Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation (UFDC) while demanding immediate reforms in the organisation.
Addressing the media, the union’s State president Trilok Singh Bisht claimed that employees who retired between 2019 and the present, after serving the corporation for 35 to 40 years are yet to receive their retirement dues. He said that despite clear directions from the Supreme Court and High Court to release employees’ dues without deductions, the corporation has delayed payments by pursuing appeals and prolonged correspondence with the government. He further said that while nearly Rs 150 crore in retirement dues remains unpaid, the corporation has spent crores of rupees on programmes such as the Vyavahar Se Vyapar seminar, Silver Jubilee celebrations and beautification of its headquarters. Bisht also raised concerns over the security of timber storage depots, alleging that many depots lack boundary fencing and night security personnel. Despite these shortcomings, he added that the corporation is planning to spend crores of rupees on Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based modernisation of depots.
He stated that cutting and trimming of timber roots is continuing at sales depots despite clear instructions issued by the managing director prohibiting the practice. The UVVNKS chief also claimed that officials from the depot level to higher authorities are collecting illegal payments in connection with the activity. He further said that grading, stacking and loading of timber at depots are being carried out through unregistered Hydra machines while payments are allegedly being made in the names of labourers.
Bisht demanded restructuring of the organisational framework of the UFDC and sought government approval for upgrading the pay scale of the scaler cadre to Level-4, citing its technical and accounting responsibilities. He also demanded that employees recruited after 2014 be brought under the pension system as part of social security.
