Water Testing Lab Staff Seek 100% Salary Hike, Regularisation After 14 Years on Contract

Convener News Desk 

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Srinagar, August 29: The All J&K Water Testing Laboratory Staff Association has sought immediate regularisation of its employees and a 100 per cent enhancement in their basic salary, saying the staff have been working on contractual basis for over 14 years without job or social security benefits.

 

The demand was raised during a meeting of the association, where newly posted Executive Engineer Er. Mushtaq Ahmad Wani and Assistant Executive Engineer Jan Masood Ahmad of the newly created Water Quality Monitoring Division Kashmir were felicitated.

 

Association Chairman Mohsin Bhat also gave a presentation on the functioning of water testing laboratories across Jammu and Kashmir, followed by detailed discussions on the staff’s long-pending demands, including revision of honorarium and regularisation.

 

The association said its staff comprises qualified and experienced professionals with degrees in subjects including MSc Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Science, besides specialised training imparted by the Jal Shakti Department and National Jal Jeevan Mission.

 

Bhat urged the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary Finance and Additional Chief Secretary Jal Shakti Department to intervene and approve a 100 per cent enhancement in the basic salary of laboratory staff during the forthcoming State Water and Sanitation Mission meeting.

 

He said the 50 per cent salary enhancement reportedly proposed by the Finance Department was inadequate, particularly amid rising inflation and living costs. The association also claimed that water testing laboratory staff in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand receive significantly higher remuneration.

 

Citing the Jal Jeevan Mission’s operational guidelines, the association said remuneration for laboratory staff should correspond with prevailing market rates, minimum wages and the cost-of-living index.

 

Bhat also appealed to the Chief Minister and Lieutenant Governor’s administration to initiate a phased and time-bound process for regularisation and absorption of the staff and creation of permanent sanctioned posts.

He said strengthening the laboratory workforce was essential for effective water quality surveillance and ensuring safe drinking water to households under the Jal Jeevan Mission.

 

The association also welcomed the creation of the Water Quality Monitoring Division in J&K and expressed hope that the newly appointed officers would address the grievances of laboratory staff and further strengthen water quality monitoring infrastructure.