The Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) president, Jagdish Singh Jhinda, on Monday requested the state government to financially support the HSGMC to ensure the smooth operation of the Miri Piri Hospital.
With salaries pending for three months, the staff of the Miri Piri Hospital in Shahabad have been on strike. A delegation of employees on Monday met the HSGMC president, seeking their salaries. The employees have threatened to launch an indefinite agitation in front of the HSGMC office and lock the office from July 8.
Jhinda said, “The doctors and other employees haven’t been paid salaries for three months, and they are forced to go on strike. We do understand that it is not their fault, as they also need money to meet their household expenses.”
Accusing the dissenting members of affecting the operations, Jhinda said, “Some dissenting members of the HSGMC have not been attending the executive body and General House meetings, due to which the committee hasn’t been able to pass its budget and provide funds. Despite repeated requests, they haven’t been attending the meetings. They have just been misguiding the public and making baseless claims. If they are serious about the hospital, they should attend the meetings and make a final decision regarding the hospital.”
He further said, “We are hopeful that the issue will be resolved soon, but the HSGMC doesn’t have an adequate budget to run the hospital’s operations smoothly for long. We also request the Haryana Government to provide a budget of around Rs 100 crore to the HSGMC for the smooth operation of the Miri Piri Hospital.”
Jhinda, who has been seeking an amendment to the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Act, said under the Act, it was mandatory to have a two-thirds majority for the completion of a simple quorum in the executive committee and the General House. This provision is being misused by the dissenting members to create obstacles to the smooth functioning of the HSGMC.
“We had even approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and the court also told us that only the government can bring about the amendment. We request the Haryana Chief Minister to make a suitable amendment to this provision in the Haryana Gurdwara Act and replace it with a simple majority,” he added.
