Cooch Behar: A crucial meeting on revising the pay structure for temporary employees of the Cooch Behar Municipality was held on Wednesday. The discussion took place under the committee formed during the last Municipality Board meeting, with vice-chairman Amin Ahmed presiding.
Ward 16 councillor Abhijit De Bhowmik and several opposition councillors were also present.
During the meeting, a proposal was placed to fix the minimum monthly salary of temporary municipal staff at Rs 10,000. Temporary employees have long been demanding a structured and fair pay scale and have submitted multiple memorandums in recent months. Responding to these demands, the Municipality had earlier constituted a committee headed by the vice-chairman.
Speaking after the meeting, vice-chairman Amin Ahmed said: “Although the committee had been formed earlier, we could not convene due to the Rash Mela. The meeting was finally held today, and we proposed that the minimum salary for temporary workers be increased to at least Rs 10,000. This will now be submitted to the Chairman for consideration.”
He added that discussions were also held on ways for the Municipality to boost its revenue. “Many residential buildings are being used commercially. We must increase income through proper taxation—on hotels, commercial properties, garbage collection and other areas. Only then will we be able to pay temporary employees’ salaries regularly and without difficulty,” Ahmed said.