MURMURS WITHIN: A Calcutta Tramways Company car wends its way down the Maidan. A Telegraph picture

Resentment is brewing among employees of the Calcutta Tramways Company (CTC), following certain appointments allegedly in violation of the Rules of Pay and Allowance (ROPA), 1998, and state government rules.

The State Government Employees Federation has threatened a movement if the appointments are not revoked.

The resentment centres around appointments in the posts of data entry operator, computer programmer and trainee foreman. The CTC has made a shortlist of 33 candidates, of whom 12 were appointed last month. The rest are scheduled to join work soon.

Federation general secretary P.B. Nag alleged that the posts have not been sanctioned by ROPA, prepared by the Third Pay Commission. Besides, in violation of state government rules, the CTC has neither obtained the finance department’s approval for the appointments nor approached the employment exchange or published advertisements seeking applicants.

The finance department’s approval is a must even for emergency appointments, pointed out Nag.

CTC chairman Rajdeo Goala said: “I must make an inquiry and find out how the appointments were made.”

Nag said: “We were amazed at the CTC’s promptness in making the appointments at a time when it is suffering from a financial crisis. The CTC has around 1,300 casual workers working for two decades. There has been no attempt to make their job permanent. There are also around 1,200 employees working on contract.”

Around 2.5 lakh members of the federation and other organisations will go on casual leave on February 15, demanding filling up of 1.5 lakh vacant posts in various government departments across the state. “We are not against anyone getting a job. But a government department cannot ignore rules,” Nag added.