HUDA employees sit on indefinite hunger strike against transfer of sectors

As a last resort to stop the transfer of HUDA sectors (and employees) to Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon, HUDA employees have begun an indefinite chain hunger strike from Tuesday against the Haryana government’s decision to shift them to the civic body.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had in February accorded approval for the transfer of some HUDA sectors to the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) for maintenance. He had given a go ahead to half of HUDA’s developed sectors, located on the right side of NH-8 (towards Jaipur), to be handed over to the MCG on April 30. The remaining sectors, on the left side of the expressway, are to be transferred on May 15.

But these transfers of HUDA sectors and the licenced colonies got delayed due to many reasons including the MCG citing shortage of funds and staff and the residents of the licenced colonies refused to pay dual tax — both property tax and maintenance charges to the civic body. But now, it has been finalised that along with transfer of HUDA sectors, the HUDA employees engaged in maintenance of water supply, storm water drainage, street-lights, roads and horticulture will also be transferred to the MCG but the decision received a stiff resistance from the employees.

Holding protests for the past two months against the decision to transfer them, the HUDA employees started the hunger strike on Tuesday demanding that the decision should be revoked. However, the main problem of HUDA employee protestors remains that they won’t get pension which they are guaranteed under the HUDA, as MCG has no such provision.

“We are not in favour of sector transfer to the MCG. If at all it happens, we urge HUDA to look into our demands as far as deputation of employees in the MCG areas is concerned. Most importantly, our retirement and promotions should be done according to HUDA slabs as we have given so many years of our lives to this organisation and our government accommodation should not be taken away from us,” said Balwan Singh, spokesperson, HUDA Workers’ Union. The workers had also given a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner on Monday in this regard.