Sri Vijayapuram, Sept 14: Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray, the Member of Parliament, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, has strongly urged the Government of India to take an early policy decision for the regularisation/absorption of Daily Rated Mazdoors (DRMs), Contractual and Outsourced employees working under the Andaman & Nicobar Administration for the past 5–25 years without any service security, pension, or financial benefits.
As per official records provided by the Administration, 12,268 workersare currently engaged across various departments in the Islands. These include 8,301 DRMs, 2,565 contractual employees, and 1,402 outsourced workers. While 8,301 DRMs have been granted 1/30th Pay + DA following court directions, the remaining 3,967 workers continue to be deprived of similar benefits, despite performing identical duties and duration of service and working hours per day similar to them.
The MP highlighted several critical issues faced by these workers:-
Age Disqualification: Many have crossed the upper age limit for recruitment after serving more than 20 -25 years, leaving them ineligible for fresh appointments.
Educational Qualifications: Several were engaged when no formal qualifications were required; today, even for MTS, a 10th pass is mandatory, making them ineligible for current recruitment.
Perennial nature of work: These employees serve continuously in key departments such as APWD, Municipal Council, Health, Rural Development, Zilla Parishad, Shipping, PMB, Forest, Agriculture, Veterinary Services, and others—proving their work is not temporary but essential in nature.
Financial Feasibility: Since 8,301 are already paid under 1/30th Pay + DA, extending benefits to all would not impose a heavy financial burden.
Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray, the MP expressed deep concern that previous proposals sent by the UT Administration were rejected by the Government due to lack of proper justification and factual presentation before the Ministry of Home Affairs and DoPT. He criticized the Administration for submitting half-hearted schemes only to escape contempt proceedings in court initiated against the the concerned officials, without providing actual relief to the workers.
The MP also pointed out that numerous vacant posts already exist across departments, which could be utilized for regularisation strictly on seniority basis. He further emphasized that denial of justice after decades of service may lead to large-scale legal disputes, industrial unrest, and disruption of essential public services in the Islands.
Quoting recent Supreme Court judgments (Jaggo vs UOI, Anita vs UOI, and Vinod Kumar vs UOI, 2024), Mr. Ray stressed that employment status and rights must be determined by the nature of work and continuity of service, not merely by the mode of engagement.
In his appeal, the MP urged the Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and Home Minister Mr. Amit Shah to:
1. Formulate a comprehensive regularisation/absorption scheme for DRMs, contractual and outsourced employees in A&N Islands as a welfare measure.
2. Recognise and count their past services for pension, retirement, and social security benefits.
3. Direct the A&N Administration to prepare and forward a justified proposal to MHA/DoPT for approval.
Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray, MP emphasized that this is not only a matter of service regularisation but also a question of justice, dignity, and humanity for thousands of families who have given their best years in service of the Islands.
