Nampally MLA Mohammed Majid Hussain has urged the Telangana government to regularise the services of employees working at Hyderabad’s historic Mecca Masjid and Shahi Masjid in Public Gardens, saying the workers have been denied service benefits despite serving for several years.
Raising the matter in the Telangana Legislative Assembly on September 18, Hussain also demanded that the government speed up the framing of service rules for employees at the two mosques. He said 30 employees currently discharge duties at the sites and have faced prolonged uncertainty over their employment conditions.
According to the MLA, the employees work from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., without holidays, throughout the year. He said they had not received benefits available to other categories of employees and argued that their service should be formally recognised by the State government.
Hussain said some of the workers had been serving from before Independence. He maintained that the absence of specific service rules had left the employees without a clear framework governing their duties, entitlements and employment status.
The issue also reflects the administrative transition of the two religious institutions after the integration of Hyderabad State. Hussain said Mecca Masjid, which is around 400 years old, and Shahi Masjid, constructed around 100 years ago, were earlier under the control of the rulers of the day.
After Hyderabad State’s integration, the mosques were placed under the Revenue and Endowments Department before being transferred to the Minorities Welfare Department in 1996-97, he said. Despite the administrative transfer, rules governing the service conditions of their employees had not been framed, according to the MLA.
Hussain further said that former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao had promised to regularise the employees, but the process had not been completed. He told the Assembly that the file concerning the matter was currently pending with the government.
The demand places responsibility for resolving the issue on the State administration, including determining the applicable service framework and the process, if any, for regularisation. Hussain said formal recognition would provide the employees with the dignity and service benefits due to them.
The government’s next action will depend on the pending file and the framing of service rules for employees of Mecca Masjid and Shahi Masjid.
