COIMBATORE: “If only I had received the order making me a permanent employee in time, my son would have been studying now and not working,” said a conservancy worker of the Gudalur town panchayat on Monday.
The worker, M Arumugam (38), was eligible to become a permanent employee in 2001 after being on contract for 13 years. But the officials concerned, instead of issuing him the confirmation order in 2001, submitted a death certificate even as he was working for the local body, Arumugam said in a petition to the district administration on Monday. He was not aware of the confirmation order until recently.
“Around 2001, I had to take leave for some time as it was delivery time for my wife. There was no one else to take care of her,” said Arumugam.
“Recently, the officials asked me to bring some files from the godown and by accident, I happened to see my own death certificate,” he said.
He approached the officials of the town panchayat asking an explanation for the death certificate. They assured him that he would be made permanent in a few days. But as nothing happened, he sought the Collector’s intervention, he said.
Arumugam has been working with the town panchayat as a conservancy worker for about 19 years getting only Rs 250 per day. “With this wage, I couldn’t educate both my children,” he said.
Though Express tried to contact the officials concerned at the town panchayat, they were not available for comments.