Aizawl: The Mizoram government has terminated 29 employees across multiple departments for illegally appointing “proxies” to carry out their official duties, state Personnel and Administrative Reforms Minister K Sapdanga informed the Assembly on Tuesday.
The action follows a directive issued by Chief Minister Lalduhoma to put an end to the long-standing practice of government employees hiring substitutes to work in their place.
Responding to queries from legislators, Sapdanga said disciplinary proceedings were initiated against 37 employees found violating service rules. “A total of 37 employees have been penalised for engaging proxy or substitute workers. Of these, 29 have been dismissed from service, while eight were awarded minor penalties,” he stated.
He added that the disciplinary measures have been recorded in the employees’ Annual Confidential Reports, which could adversely affect their future service prospects.
The extent of the so-called “proxy culture” came to light following a government order issued in December 2023. Soon after assuming office, the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) government vowed to eliminate the illegal practice and directed employees using proxies to report themselves to their respective department heads by January 2024.
According to official data, more than 3,600 employees admitted to hiring substitute workers. The School Education Department reported the highest number of such cases at 1,115, followed by the Health Department and the Power and Electricity Department.
Over 2,000 employees cited health-related issues as the reason for engaging proxies, while 703 attributed it to domestic problems. Others pointed to the lack of residential quarters in rural areas, difficult access to remote postings and language barriers as contributing factors.
In June 2024, the government instructed all employees who had engaged proxies to report to their designated places of posting within 45 days. In March last year, Lalduhoma informed the Assembly that no further instances of proxy hiring had been reported following the government’s crackdown.
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The Chief Minister also announced that employees unable to perform their duties due to valid reasons would be allowed to opt for voluntary retirement under the newly introduced Special Voluntary Retirement Scheme.
