Q AKASHWANI & DOORDARSHAN ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF ASSOCIATION (RECOGNISED) NATIONAL COUNCIL PRESIDENT: GENERAL SECRETARY: G K ACHARYA, RS CHOUHAN, MOBILE : 9013367650 MOBILE : 9013515375 EMAIL : gopalk59@redifimail.com EMAIL: tanvimanvi@gmail.com VICE PRESIDENT: SHYAM SUNDER SOMAI, rn MOBILE : 9873199251 o Shri Venkaiah Naidu ASST. GEN. SECRETARY: BINOD KUMAR, MOBILE : 9818200587 ORG. SECRETARY: RAJBIR SINGH MANN, MOBILE : 9811242148 TREASURER: MOHAN GAUR, MOBILE : 9868960880 Hon'ble Minister for Information & Broadcasting Govt. of India, “A” Wing, Shastri Bhawan New Delhi-110 001. Subject: Seeking humble intervention for the resolution of our decade long discrimination against the Administrative EB Oe 5 intra: department pay disparity. Ref: Ministry of | & B Latter No.310/173/97-B (P) Dated 25.2.1999 Sir, First of all, we are expressing our heartily congratulations on assuming the charge of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting which is now all set for expanding its horizon under your seasoned guidance. We are approaching Your Honour under the succeeding facts and circumstances since we are struggling for more than 16 years in the matter of intra-department pay disparity arising out of the Ministry of 1&B, New Delhi above letter dated 25.02.1999 which areas under:~ 1. That It is humbly submitted that the Min, of 1 & B granted Upgraded Scale/ Prasar Bharati Scale/incentive by carving out 11 categories of favoured and creamy cadres of Programme and Engineering Staff vide aforesaid letter dated 25.02.1999 even though the Administrative Staff was on identical footing for the grant of said upgraded pay scale. The para-2(1) of the said letter dated 25.02.1999 states:- “The upgraded Scales will be allowed not as Govtemployees per se but as government employees currently in service of Prasar Bharati, As and when the employees, presently working in AIR & DD are asked to exercise their option, those employees who do not opt for Prasar Bharati will revert as government servant and will no longer be entitled to Upgraded Scale/Prasar Bharati Scale/incentive™2. That the aforesaid Upgraded Scale/Prasar Bharati Scale/incentive was granted to only the existing employees and was denied to the further recruits thereafter. However, it is pertinent to note that Ministry of I&B extended the aforesaid Upgraded Scale/Prasar Bharati Scale/incentive to the handful of further recruits apart from the existing employees as stated above vide MIB letter No. 56013/10/2015-BAP. dated 25.8.2015 recruited after 25.2.1999, 3. That due to the aforesaid act of arbitrary discrimination. the Pay Scales of Administrative Cadre was badly affected which Is brought to your humble notice as under:~ i Prasar Bharati is a sole organization which is advertently targeting the Administrative Cadre by treating it as a Common Cadre, whereas, itis known that the Engineering Cadres consist of Helpers, Technicians, Sr. Technicians, Jr. Engineers, Assistant Engineers which are Common Cadres functioning in’ various Government Departments throughout India. ii The designations of Administrative Staff have been changed without any merit to identify them as a Common Designation/Cadre. iii. Prasar Bharati, receives funds for payment of salaries from the Ministry of | & B and from that fund, the Board of Prasar Bharati is granting Higher Pay Scale to the Deputation Posts of Administrative wing of PB rather than the regular posts. iv. On one hand various proposals in connection with the legitimate rights of the Administrative Staff were rejected while on the other hand, the same proposals were accepted by the Ministry on various occasions for other Cadres of Prasar Bharati without any rationale. ‘The major grounds of the aforesaid discrimination and injustice are stated as below: It is acknowledged very well that the Min, of I & B had allowed Higher Pay Scales i.e. Prasar Bharati Pay Scales (being a non- Government Pay Scale to such Common Designated Employees of Engineering Wing of Prasar Bharati) for those Designations, which are invariably available in various Departments under Government of India. Surprisingly, while granting the above Higher Pay Scale to the Common Cadres without examining pros & cons of the word of “Wide Ranging Implication’, no rational decision was visible and in addition, it is seen from the records that the above scales were allowed as incentive as per FTS No.1982/2014/B Page 21, Dept. of Legal affairs, Min. of Law and justice Para. 17 reproduced (Annexure B) “However as per order dated 25.2.1999 as referred above, only one upgraded scale was given as an incentive to those employees who were currently working in Prasar Bharati and there were no concern about their status etc.b. The DOPT E (D) U.O, No.#348/11/2010-Fstt.(D) dated 19.6,2011 in which Para 3is reproduced- “It further seen that 11 categories of employes of AIR and DD were granted one scale above over and above that recommended by the 5% CPC west, 25,2.1999" © Its further submitted that the administrative wing of Prasar Bharati had been tapped by intentionally changing the Designation of CG-1 & CG-II without any merit which is clearly Teflected in the letter of DG, AIR, New Delhi's vide No.A- 45013/76/2012-S.I1/1782 dtd. 20/08/2015 (Annexure D) and such intentional attitude is pertinent that even after completion of 21(Twenty-One) years of re-designation, still all criteria of CC=I Il remain ‘unchanged to govern the re-designated Administrative Stafls. Thereafter, introduction of such ineffective re-designation, attention has been involved in various ways to treat the Administrative wing of Prasar Bharati as a common cadre and here the word “Wide Ranging Implication” has been introduced promptly to deprive us in all respect without any rationale. 4. That there is no Department in the Government sector where two different standard of wages among the stafls are running simultaneously in two different names from the funds of Government of India, Le. one in the name of Prasar Bharati Pay Scale and another in the name of Government Pay Seale, which is generating the feeling of Administrative Staif as a Second Class Employees even though they are contributing the best towards the progress ofthe Organizatio 5. That the Authority of Ministry of | & B has been adopting arbitrarily & intentionally a double standard attitude. Here it is hot worthy that, on one hand the Ministry of I & B had issued Speaking Order for disallowing the Praser Dherati Pay Scale through File No.S15/46/2010-BA (E) dte.09/12/2014 (Annexure E) that “the prayer contained in Annexure (A-36) of the OA No.298 of 2010 canniot be acceded to because the employees under the Federation of Doordarshan Core Professional by virtue ‘of amendment to Section-11 of Prasar Bharati Act are, for all purposes, now Central Govt. employees. They would be governed in the matter of Pay Scale on the basis of recommendations of Central Pay Commission from time to time” 6. Thaton the other hand, the Ministry of 1 & B itself is extending the seme Prasar Bharati Pay Scale (which is clearly established in various Government documents that, it is totally a Non- Government Pay Scale and it is over & above the prescribed Government Pay Scale) to the Employees (those who are treated as Government Employee as per Amendment Act of Prasar Bharati) through FNo. 56013/10/2015-BAP dtd.25/08/2015.(Annexure F) 7. That since implementation of Prasar Bharati Act, the Management due to ignorance of the facts, which may not have been placed before you earlier, is treating the Administrative Staff in stepmotherly manner. 8 That in realty, the Administrative Cadre of Prasar Bharati has always performed a vital role to achieve the goal by implementing the Govt, policy properly and also acts as an agent of accountab lity and transparency. A copy of the aforesaid orders and relevant facts are enclosed hereby for your ready reference.9. ‘That it is pertinent to note that the evident discrimination and disparity canbe seen as same was extended to the Administrative Cadres while determining Government Pay Scales. However, the Prasar Bharati has created two different jovernment Pay Scale for the same Designation of Administrative wing Le. identified low Scale has been allowed for the Employees those who are holding the posts on Regular Basis and another Higher Pay Scale has been allowed for the Employees those who are holding the Administrative posts on deputation basis, and the said disparity continues till date 10.That it is vehemently mentioned that the authority of Prasar Bharati has cleverly managed to misinterpret and misrepresent by stating misleading facts thereby showing to have no intension to correct or frame such provisions as necessary to address the sald issue. 11. That it is humbly submitted that ACP & MACP have been framed by the DoP&T. The DoP&T is the Nodal Department of Government of India to clarify any matter, and it is obligatory for every Public Authority to implement the guidelines of DoP&T without any misinterpretation. Here, the Authority of Prasar Bherati_has knowingly mis-interpreted the clarification of DoPA&T’s 1D No.87539/13/CR dated 10/07/2013 because, in column 5,(Annexure G) it has been stated that ; “With reference to the specific clarification sought by the referring Department vide para 5 of note at p.13/ante, it is noticed that Orders pertaining of the upgradation of Pay Scales of the concerned Employees to that of Rs.7500-12000/- was issued with the approval of IF Division of the Ministry. Hence the referring Department is advised to take up the issue relating to withdrawal/discontinuation of the said higher pay scale, ete. with the Department of Expenditure through their IF Division”. From the above clarification, it can be is clearly concluded that the DoP&T did not allow ACP/MACP on the Prasar Bharati Pay Scales but advised to withdraw/discontinue the Higher Pay Scales because these scales were granted as Prasar Bharati Scale as incentive. However, the Authority of Prasar Bharati has converted the above clarifications in favour of the Common Cadres those who are drawing Prasar Bharati Pay Scale by stating that DoP&T vide its ID No.47539/13/CR dated 10/07/2013 had opined that ‘as the benefits under the MACPS are allowed in the Grade Pay hierarchy, any up. gradation availed during their career would be counted against the three up-gradation permissible under the MACPS. (The copy of DoP&T's clarification and letter of Min. | & B vide letter No.503/5/2014-BA(E) dtd.08/09/2014 are enclosed for ready reference) ‘That if Ministry of | & B truly feels that the Government Rule & Regulation has been framed to check the misuse of the Government fund and desire to resolve disparities among the Government employees, then they should take immediate actian by framing such policies in order to do away with such disparity.It is also pertinent to mention here that the Upgraded Scale/Prasar Bharati Scale/incentive granted vide dtd.25/02/1999, was allowed as an incentive as clearly stated in the opinion of Min. of Legal Affairs vide FTS No.1982/2014/B dtd.31/07/2014 (Annexure I) as per guide lines of Supreme Court judgment on contempt Petition (C) No.27 of 2008 in civil appeal No.3245/2002 and also confirmed by the Gazette notification of Amendment Act of Prasar Bharati, report of Committee of Joint Secretaries and Audit Report of FMRSS chaired by Sh.CRSundaramurty, Ex. Controller General of Accounts and as per various Audit objections, Under the aforesaid factual matrix of our longstanding grievance, it is hereby humbly prayed for issuing suitable direction for the grant of upgraded pay scale vide above letter dated 25.02.1999 since our longstanding demand is genuine on the following grounds:- a) The prescribed Undertaking was obtained from only 11 categories of employees belonging to engineering and programme wings denying the same to the administrative cadre. b) By order no. 21/2002-BA-P dated 18.09.2002 issued by the MIB, New Delhi, the services of all the government servants of Akashwani and Doordarshan has already been placed on “deputation basis’, to Prasar Bharati. Thus, there is no distinction so far as the status of Prasar Bharati employees are concerned. ©) There is a categorical time frame for framing rules and regulations on conversion of govt department _ into PSU/Autonomous/Statutory Body vide DOP&T OM no. AB.14017/37/2009-Estt. (RR) dated 08.10.2010, the period of which has already lapsed so far as Prasar Bharat is concerned. d) There was no cut-off date prescribed in the Undertaking Annexed to the MIB above letter dated 25.02.1999. Hence, there is no bar towards extending the said upgraded pay scale to the administrative cadre that too after placing all the employee of AIR and Doordarshan under “deemed deputation vide above order dated 08.10.2010. With regards, Yours faithfully,