The respondents in the case are principal secretaries of the Finance and Rural Development Departments, the commissioner of the concerned departments, the District Collector, the ZP Chief Executive Officer and the Education Officer. As per the State Government’s orders, ZP employees and teachers should remain at headquarter compulsorily.
President of the Osmanabad branch of Maharashtra Rajya Prathmik Shikshak Samiti Vilas Kantekure filed a petition in the HC through adv Saeed Shaikh.
In the petition, it was stated that as per the earlier Government norms, the condition for house rent allowance for ZP employees to stay at the place of appointment was relaxed.
However, the Finance and Rural Development Departments of the State Government issued orders on October 7, 2016, making ZP teachers and employees stay at headquarters compulsorily. The petitioners stated it was an injustice to the families of teachers and employees because there are Government quarters for Government employees.
“There is no such facility for ZP staff members, so, they have to take a house on rent. Many a time, schools are located in remote or hilly areas like hamlet, tanda, hutment and settlement which lack even a ‘pucca’ house. This makes it difficult for teachers to stay at headquarters. There is no clarity on staying at headquarters if both husband and wife are in Government service. There are no Government guidelines on what to do if a teacher is transferred or promoted in the middle of an academic year,” Vilas Kantekure stated in the petition.
The petitioner said that teachers have to stay at the tehsil or district level for family members' academic, health and other requirements. “Even if an employee or teacher stays on tehsil or district level, s(he) performs their duty honestly. The staffers reach duty on time daily through public or private vehicles. Despite this, probe orders are issued against such teachers. The implementation of vague Governments on employees in such a situation will be injustice,” the petitioner said.
The HC issued directives to serve a notice and ask the respondents to submit their say. The next hearing has been placed on November 28, 2022. Adv Saeed Shaikh appeared for the petitioner while assistant Government pleader S G Karlekar represented the Government.