ICT school staff accuse IL&FS firm of not paying salary

Kolkata, April 2 (IANS) A commotion broke out here on Tuesday after police baton charged a large number of ICT school coordinators holding a sit-in demonstration demanding "justified salary" and clearing of "pending remuneration".

The protesters accused the private implementing agency - a group company of the crisis-hit Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) - of depriving them of "justified salary" under the ICT@schools scheme. 

"As per the government order, a sum of Rs 3,49,356 in a year was allotted per school in West Bengal on account of maintenance of capital infrastructure, and operational expenses and others. We, as ICT school coordinators, are drawing a remuneration of about Rs 4,600 per month which is too low as compared to the government's allocation. We demand justified salary and clearing of pending remuneration," West Bengal ICT School Coordinator Welfare Association President Swapan Pan said.

The company which has been "entrusted with the responsibility of recruiting us and giving us salary is paying less than what we are entitled to", they alleged.

Some computer teachers including women were agitating and had come to submit a deputation demanding increase of their salaries before the implementing agency's office at city's Minto park area.

According to locals, police carried out a baton charge to disperse the agitators after traffic flow was partially affected because of the gathering.

A senior police official said the police tried to push them back when they forcibly tried to enter the office. 

Under the centrally sponsored scheme, many state government aided schools were approved by the centre in 2011-12 for implementation of the scheme in West Bengal under Build Own Operate and Transfer model.

For the implementation of the project, state government undertaking Webel Informatics had been engaged for consultancy, management and evaluation of the scheme, which, in turn, selected the private implementing agency through open bidding process.

Refuting all the allegations, an IL&FS Group official said: "We are compliant with all the conditions of the contract with the state government."