Chief Minister will chair meeting soon on regularising civic workers, says Rahim Khan

The Hindu

28-05-2025

Minister for Municipal Administration and Haj Rahim Khan announced on Wednesday that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will chair a high-level meeting shortly to address the long-standing demand for the regularisation of civic workers across the State.
Addressing journalists after a progress review meeting at the Deputy Commissioner's office in Kalaburagi, the Minister acknowledged the ongoing protests by civic workers and sanitation employees seeking permanent employment.
'Nearly 70% of civic workers in the State have already been regularised. The remaining 30%, including loaders, sanitation workers, and drivers, are yet to be brought under regular employment,' he said, responding to a media query.
Mr. Khan explained that since taking office, he had twice submitted proposals to the Finance Department to regularise civic workers employed on a contract basis.
'However, the proposals were returned based on the Supreme Court's judgment in the Umadevi case that restricted indiscriminate regularisation of temporary staff. We are now looking at a meeting under the leadership of the Chief Minister to find a practical and lawful resolution,' the Minister stated.
Mr. Khan also announced a State-wide initiative to plug revenue losses in property tax collections.
'Many property owners in urban local bodies (ULBs), who had taken permission for only ground floors 10 years ago, have constructed first and second floors later. However, they are paying taxes only for the ground floors. To address this, we will conduct drone surveys in municipal areas to correctly map property dimensions and update tax assessments accordingly. This step is essential to improve compliance and protect the State's revenue,' he said.
Earlier in the day, the Minister paid a visit to the Indira Canteen located on the premises of the Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) and took stock of its operations and the quality of food being served. Noting the high footfall in the area owing to patients and their families arriving from across the district, he instructed officials to increase the daily supply of meals and breakfast to 1,000 portions, up from the current 500.
'This is a district hospital zone, so naturally there's a constant inflow of people. The demand for affordable meals is high, and the service must match it,' he told reporters during the inspection.
Mr. Khan also took time to personally inspect the master kitchen and sample items to assess the food quality. He instructed contractors to maintain high standards of hygiene and ensure that nutritious meals are served consistently. 'Menus should be clearly displayed, and every meal must reflect the government's commitment to supporting the urban poor,' he emphasised.
He also reminded the press that during the previous Congress-led government, 350 Indira Canteens had been established across Karnataka, and this year, 184 new canteens would be opened.