Election Holidays – Grant of Paid Holiday to Central Government Employees on the day of Poll – Orders Issued by Election Commission

Election Holidays – Grant of Paid Holiday to CG Employees on the day of Poll – Orders Issued by Election Commission

Election Commission has issued orders on General Election to the State Legislative Assembly of NCT of Delhi 2015, grant of paid holiday to employees on the day of poll under section 135B of Representation of the People Act 1951. The order is reproduced and given below for your ready reference…

ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA

No.78/2015/EPS

Dated: 20th January, 2015

To
1. The Chief Secretary to the Government of NCT of Delhi,Delhi.
2. The Chief Electoral Officer,Delhi.
3. The Secretary to the Govt, of India, M/o Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel and Training, North Block, New Delhi.

Subject:- General Election to the State Legislative Assembly of NCT of Delhi, 2015 – Grant of paid holiday to employees on the day of poll – Regarding.

Sir,
I am directed to invite your attention to Section 135B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 which provides for the grant of paid holiday to the employees on the day of poll. The Section 135B is reproduced below:-

“135B. Grant of paid holiday to employees on the day of poll.

(1) Every person employed in any business trade, industrial undertaking or any other establishment and entitled to vote at election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of a State shall, on the day of poll, be granted a holiday.

(2) No deduction or abatement of the wages of any such person shall be made on account of a holiday having been granted in accordance with sub-section (I) and if such person is employed on the basis that he would not ordinarily receive wages for such a day, he shall nonetheless be paid for such day the wages he would have drawn had not a holiday been granted to him on that day.

(3) If an employer contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), then such employer shall be punishable with fine, which may extend to five hundred rupees.

(4) This section shall not apply to any elector whose absence may cause danger or substantial loss in respect of the employment in which he is engaged.”

2. The above provisions require that all the electors who are employees of establishments and shops including those who work on shift basis shall be granted a paid holiday on the day of poll in the Constituency where a general election is to be held. Further, there may be cases where a person is ordinarily resident of the Constituency and registered as an elector, may be serving/employed in an industrial undertaking or an establishment located outside the Constituency having a general election. It is clarified that in such a situation, even those electors including casual workers working outside the constituency concerned would be entitled to the benefit of a paid holiday extended under Section 135B(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951,

3. The daily wage/casual workers are also entitled for a holiday and wages on poll day as provided in Section 135B of the R.P. Act, 1951

4. The Commission desires that suitable instructions should be issued to all concerned and a copy thereof be endorsed to the Commission for its information and record.

5. The receipt of this letter may please be acknowledged.

Yours faithfully
sd/-
(Sumit Mukerjee)
Secretary

Download original order – Click here
Authority: www.eci.nic.in

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The Role of Government Employees In General Assembly Elections

Important role of Government employees play on the day of polling…

One of the reasons for this importance is the practice of selecting only the state and Central Government employees for election duties.One can say that it is impossible to hold elections without the assistance of state and Central Government employees. So crucial is their contribution.

They are involved in election duties for months, either directly or indirectly. The crowning moment of these efforts are during the polling day when thousands of government employees are appointed at all the polling booths, on an average of at least 3 per booth.

It might look like an easy task to handle in metropolitan cities and smaller towns. It is not easy to carry out these tasks in remote villages or mountainous polling booths that are almost isolated from the rest of the civilisation. More dangerous are the constituencies and areas that have been deemed sensitive and hypersensitive. In such areas, polling is held under tight security. From morning until evening, these officers have to sit at the polling stations with a heavy blanket of security. At the end of the polling, the voting machines are taken away under high security, but the officials who had manned the booth are left to fend for themselves and find their way back home.

According to the Government Order, if an employee deployed for poll duties fails to turn up on the polling day, then severe action would be taken against him/her.

In the past, a number of requests have been made to the Government to increase the honorarium paid to the employees on poll duties. Finally, it looks as if the Election Commission has heard the requests. According to information available, the Presiding Officer will be paid Rs. 1600, and the Polling Officer shall get an honorarium of Rs. 1150. The money shall be deposited directly in their bank accounts.

#Election Duties, #Election Duty, #Election Duty Allowance, #Honorarium for Election Duty, #Paid Holidays, #Indian Government News

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Grant of paid holiday to employees on the day of poll – Election Commission Orders

Grant of paid holiday to employees on the day of poll – Election Commission Orders

Every person employed in any business trade, industrial undertaking or any other establishment and entitled to vote at election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of a State shall, on the day of poll, be granted a holiday.

Grant of paid holiday to all employees including daily wage/casual workers on the day of poll under Section 135B is reproduced below…

ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA
NIRVACHAN SADAN, ASHOKA ROAD, NEW DELHI-110001.

No.78/2013/EPS

Dated: 24th October, 2013

To
1. The Chief Secretaries to the Government of: –
Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan,
Delhi, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.

2. The Chief Electoral Officers of: –
Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram. Rajasthan,
Delhi, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.

3. The Secretary to the Govt. of India, M/o Personnel Public
Grievances & Pensions, Department of Personnel and
Training, North Block, New Delhi.

Subject:- General Election to the State Legislative Assemblies of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Delhi and bye-elections to fill the casual vacancies in the State Legislative Assemblies of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu — Grant of paid holiday to employees on the day of poll — Regarding.

Sir,
I am directed to invite your attention to Section 135B of the Representation of the People Act. 1951 which provides for the grant of paid holiday to the employees on the day of poll. The Section 135B is reproduced below:

“135B. Grant of paid holiday to employees on the day of poll.

(i) Every person employed in any business trade, industrial undertaking or any other establishment and entitled to vote at election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of a State shall, on the day of poll, be granted a holiday.

(ii) No deduction or abatement of the wages of any such person shall be made on account of a holiday having been granted in accordance with sub-section (I) and if such person is employed on the basis that he would not ordinarily receive wages for such a day, he shall nonetheless be paid for such day the wages he would have drawn had not a holiday been granted to him on that day.

(iii) If an employer contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) or susedion (2), then such employer shall be punishable with fine, which may extend to five hundred rupees.

(iv) This section shall not apply to any elector whose absence may cause danger or substantial loss in respect of the employment in which he is engaged.”

2. The above provisions recuire that all establishments and shops including those which work on shift basis shall be closed on the day of poll in the Constituency where a General/bye-election is to be held. However, there may be cases where a person is ordinanly resident of the Constituency and registered as an elector, may be serving/employed in an industrial undertaking or an establishment located outside the Constituency having a general/bye-election. It is clarified that in such a situation, even those electors including casual workers working outside the constituency concerned would be entitled to the benefit of a paid holiday extended under Section 135B(1) of the Representation of the People Act. 1951.

3. The daily wage/casual workers are also entitled for a holiday and wages on poll day as provided in Section 135B of the R.P. Act, 1951.

4. The Commission desired that suitable instructions should be issued to all concerned and a copy there of be endorsed to the Commission for its information and record.

5. The receipt of this letter may please be acknowledged.

Yours faithfully,
sd/-
(Sumit Mukherjee)
Secretary

Source : www.eci.nic.in

#Election Duties, #Election Duty Allowance, #Election Holidays, #Legislative Assembly Election, #State Government Employees

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Public holiday on 15.10.2014 on account of General Assembly Elections in the State of Maharashtra

Public holiday on 15.10.2014 on account of General Assembly Elections in the State of Maharashtra

Public holiday under Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 on Wednesday, 15th October 2014 on account of General Assembly Elections in the State of Maharashtra.

The General Administration Department of Maharashtra State Government has published orders regarding the declaration as a public holiday in the state, on the day of polling i.e. Wednesday, 15th October 2014 for the General Assembly Elections.

The Indian Bank Association has also declared as public holiday under Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 on Wednesday, 15.10.2014 on account of General Assembly Elections in the State of Maharashtra. The public holiday may be applicable to all government offices, private organizations, all public and private sector banks and all educational institutions.

#Election Duties, #Election Duty Allowance, #Election Holidays, #Holidays, #List of Public Holidays, #Election Duty, # Indian Government News.

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Rs. 10 Lakh Compensation if Government Employee Dies During Election Duty

Rs. 10 Lakh Compensation if Government Employee Dies During Election Duty

The Tamil Nadu Election Commission’s Chief Commissioner, Praveen Kumar says that the Election Commission has announced a compensation of Rs. 10 lakhs for employees who die while on election duties.

Normally during state elections, more than 3 lakh state and Central Government employees, including teachers, local police personnel, police personnel from the neighboring states, paramilitary forces and private videographers, participate.

If death occurs in poll-related violence or if the employee dies of cardiac arrest while on election duty, his/her family was, until now, given a compensation of Rs. 5 lakhs. This has been increased to Rs. 10 lakhs from 2014 onwards. Under this scheme, personnel who had died on duty during the May elections will be paid a compensation of Rs. 10 lakhs, says Praveen Kumar.

If the death is unfortunately caused due to any violent acts of extremist or unsocial elements like, road mines, bomb blasts, armed attacks, etc., the amount of compensation would be Rs.20 lakhs. In the case of permanent disability, like loss of limb, eye sight, etc., a minimum ex-gratia payment of Rs.5 lacs would be given to the official (which would be doubled in the case of such mishaps being caused by extremist or unsocial elements as aforesaid).

Source: 7thpaycommissionnews.in

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Public holiday on 15.10.2014 on account of General Assembly Elections in the State of Maharashtra

Public holiday on 15.10.2014 on account of General Assembly Elections in the State of Maharashtra

Public holiday under Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 on Wednesday, 15th October 2014 on account of General Assembly Elections in the State of Maharashtra.

The General Administration Department of Maharashtra State Government has published orders regarding the declaration as a public holiday in the state, on the day of polling i.e. Wednesday, 15th October 2014 for the General Assembly Elections.

The Indian Bank Association has also declared as public holiday under Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 on Wednesday, 15.10.2014 on account of General Assembly Elections in the State of Maharashtra. The public holiday may be applicable to all government offices, private organizations, all public and private sector banks and all educational institutions.

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