The protest by Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) employees entered its 44th day on Tuesday, marked by heightened tensions as demonstrators burnt an effigy of the department's top official and vowed to intensify their agitation.
Effigy Torched as Protest Escalates
On December 3, 2025, a large rally organised by the Punjab Field and Workshop Workers’ union, based in Dera Bassi, marched at PUDA Bhawan in Mohali. The gathering culminated in the symbolic burning of an effigy of PUDA’s Chief Administrator, Neeru Katyal Gupta. This act underscored the growing frustration among the workforce after over six weeks of a relay hunger strike.
On the same day, five employees—Paramjit Singh, GE Narata Ram, Suresh Sharma, supervisor Charan Singh, and Ranjit Singh—took their turn sitting on the rotating hunger strike, keeping the protest alive.
A Long List of Unmet Demands
Addressing the rally, union leaders including state president Sukhdev Singh Saini, general secretary Shishan Kumar, senior vice-president Jarnail Singh, and finance secretary Shingara Singh laid out a comprehensive list of demands directed at the Punjab government.
The core issues highlighted were:
- Immediate release of the pending 16% dearness allowance (DA) for employees.
- Reinstatement of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for all staff recruited before April 1, 2004.
- Regularisation of all contractual, daily-wage, and outsourced workers who have been employed since October 5, 2015, across PUDA and all development authorities.
The leaders also demanded the release of bonus and ex-gratia payments allegedly deducted unfairly over the past two years.
Welfare and Housing Grievances
Beyond the primary demands, the union presented several other critical issues requiring government attention. They insisted that regularised contract workers receive all benefits mandated by the Punjab Labour Department, such as gazetted holidays, bonus, ex-gratia, EPF, ESI, and gratuity.
Other key demands included:
- Medical reimbursement facilities for retired employees.
- Restoration of the 25% House Rent Allowance (HRA).
- Vacating illegally occupied departmental flats for allotment to eligible staff.
- Ensuring a 10% reservation for staff in plot allotments.
- Timely clearance of all pending dues for retirees.
Threat of Widening Protests
Showing no signs of backing down, the union announced plans to expand their demonstration. They declared that an effigy-burning protest would next be held outside the residence of Chief Engineer Anuj Sehgal, signalling a strategic escalation to target other senior officials.
The prolonged agitation at PUDA Bhawan highlights the deepening discontent among Punjab's government employees over delayed financial benefits, job security, and pension reforms. With the protest now stretching into its second month, pressure is mounting on the state administration to address these long-pending grievances.
