Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 15 September 2025
Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray, Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, has referred to as upon the Government of India to urgently formulate a complete coverage for the regularisation and absorption of Daily Rated Mazdoors (DRMs), contractual, and outsourced workers who’ve been serving within the Andaman & Nicobar Administration for the previous 5–25 years with out service safety, pension, or monetary advantages.
According to official knowledge, 12,268 staff are presently engaged throughout numerous departments of the Administration, comprising 8,301 DRMs, 2,565 contractual workers, and 1,402 outsourced workers. While DRMs are at present paid wages on a 1/thirtieth Pay + DA foundation following court docket orders, the remaining 3,967 staff proceed to be denied the identical advantages regardless of performing similar duties for equal durations.
Highlighting the plight of those staff, the MP drew consideration to key challenges:
• Age Barriers: Many staff, having served 20–25 years, have now crossed the higher age restrict, making them ineligible for recent appointments.
• Qualification Norms: Several had been recruited at a time when no formal {qualifications} had been required. Today, even for primary MTS posts, tenth go is necessary, disqualifying them beneath present guidelines.
• Essential Services: These staff are constantly engaged in essential sectors like APWD, Municipal Council, Health, Rural Development, Zilla Parishad, Shipping, PMB, Forest, Agriculture, and Veterinary Services, which reveals that their work just isn’t non permanent in nature.
• Financial Viability: Extending advantages to all staff wouldn’t trigger a heavy burden on the exchequer, as a big part of DRMs are already receiving 1/thirtieth Pay + DA.
Mr. Ray expressed dissatisfaction that earlier proposals submitted by the UT Administration had been rejected by the Centre resulting from lack of correct justification, accusing officers of forwarding half-baked schemes merely to keep away from contempt proceedings in court docket. He harassed that quite a few vacant posts exist in departments which might be utilised for regularisation strictly on the idea of seniority.
The MP additionally warned that denial of justice after a long time of service might set off widespread authorized battles, industrial unrest, and disruption of important public providers within the Islands. Citing latest Supreme Court judgments, he asserted that employment standing ought to be decided by the character and continuity of labor, not by the mode of engagement.
In his enchantment to Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and Home Minister Mr. Amit Shah, Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray urged the Centre to:
1. Frame a regularisation and absorption scheme for DRMs, contractual, and outsourced workers as a welfare measure.
2. Recognise their previous service for pension, retirement, and social safety advantages.
3. Direct the A&N Administration to organize a complete and justified proposal for submission to MHA and DoPT.
Calling the difficulty one in all “justice, dignity, and humanity,” Mr. Ray emphasised that 1000’s of households within the Islands, who’ve devoted their finest years in service, shouldn’t be left in uncertainty.
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