Mizoram terminates 29 employees over proxy hiring

The Government of Mizoram has terminated 29 employees across various departments for illegally engaging “proxies” to perform their official duties, according to Administrative Reforms Minister K Sapdanga.

Speaking in the Mizoram Assembly on February 24, Sapdanga said disciplinary action was initiated against 37 employees found violating service norms by hiring substitute workers on their behalf. Of them, 29 have been dismissed from service, while eight others received minor penalties. The actions have also been recorded in the Annual Confidential Reports (ACR) of the concerned officials.

The crackdown follows a December 2023 government order issued by Chief Minister Lalduhoma, directing employees to discontinue the practice of proxy appointments and report back to their respective departments by January 2024. Official data indicates that around 3,600 employees had admitted to engaging substitute staff.

The School Education Department reported the highest number of such cases at 1,115, followed by the Health Department (624) and the Power and Electricity Department (253). While 2,000 employees cited health-related issues for appointing proxies, 703 attributed it to domestic problems. Others pointed to the absence of residential quarters in rural postings and long travel distances.

Under the newly introduced Special Voluntary Retirement Scheme, 2024, regular employees governed by the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972, and those under the Mizoram New Defined Contributory System with over 20 years of service may opt for voluntary retirement.

Officials estimate Mizoram has between 45,000 and 50,000 government employees.