CIC hears 75 pleas of coal whistle-blower at one go
While for some no information was provided, the reply on others were not comprehensive. On Monday, the Central Information Commission (CIC) at one go took up 75 of his cases through video conferencing in the city. Concerned officials of SECL, Coal India Limited (CIL), Ministry of Coal, and Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) were also present for the hearing.
Manka Behl
Nagpur: The perseverance of 63-year-old whistle-blower Yugal Bhattad, a former employee of South-Eastern Coal Limited (SECL), has finally paid off. Relieved from his job four months before retirement and that too without the entitled gratuity and salary, he put up over a hundred Right to Information (RTI) queries in the last two years to know the status and information regarding some other irregularities. Simultaneously, he also won a case against SECL in labour commissioner office.
Following the hearing, information commissioner Yashovardhan Azad reportedly directed Bhattad's SECL, Bilaspur, to submit various documents related to his cases. "The next hearing will take place after the commissioner goes through all the documents," said Bhattad's counsel Ankita Shah.
It is learnt that in 2013, Bhattad who was then working as the senior manager at SECL, Bilaspur, had complained about a scam within the coal company. "Through a circular issued by the general manager of WCL in 1996, the arbitration clause in civil engineering contracts was deleted. Despite this, SECL was illegally appointing arbitrators," said Bhattad.
According to him, a total loss of around Rs2.5 crores had occurred due to this practice. "I had made an anonymous complaint with the Bhilai branch of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). By the time an inquiry was initiated, it was evident that I was the whistle-blower," Bhattad said.
The matter was forwarded to chairman-cum-managing director of SECL who stated that the misconduct alleged against the officers involved in the arbitration scam stood substantiated and had ordered a major penalty on them.
About four months before his retirement, Bhattad was allegedly asked not to come to work when he joined back after a sick leave. During the hearing on Monday, Bhattad stated that despite having a fitness certificate, he was declared as 'medically unfit'.
He further informed the information commissioner that he was harassed by the company. "They pressurized me to withdraw the medical fitness certificate and didn't let me work for the last four months before my retirement. Moreover, unnecessary deductions were made from my monthly salaries and gratuity," Bhattad stated.
Despite filing numerous RTI queries seeking reasons for these deductions, Bhattad could never obtain the desired information. "I was entitled to get around Rs10 lakh as gratuity amount. The company gave only Rs2.59 lakh," Bhattad said. Following this, he filed a case with assistant labour commissioner, Bilaspur, which ordered the coal company to pay him the entitled amount with 10% interest.
Seeking compensation for the mental harassment, he filed a petition before deputy chief labour commissioner, Raipur, who ruled on May 7, 2017, that Bhattad was entitled a total gratuity of Rs32.28 lakh. " The appellant is entitled to get a sum of Rs29.69 lakhs as unpaid balance of gratuity with simple interest at the rate of 10% per annum with effect from April 1, 2015," the order stated.
coal Yugal Bhattad
south-eastern coal limited
Coal India Limited
Central Bureau of Investigation
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