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HSGMC gets down to work from today
Parvesh Sharma
Tribune News Service

Executive meeting sommoned The HSGMC executive will meet on Thursday at its temporary office in Neem Sahib gurdwara in Kaithal On the top of agenda is the SGPC (Amritsar) employees who are posted at Haryana shrines They were allegedly ‘working against’ the HSGMC Other issues to be taken up include preparing a strategy on how to take control of Haryana Sikh shrines in a peaceful manner

Kaithal, July 30
Having failed to take possession of gurdwaras across the state, the executive of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) will meet tomorrow at its temporary office in Neem Sahib gurdwara here.

The 11-member body will deliberate on a host of issues facing them but on the top of the agenda is the SGPC (Amritsar) employees who are presently posted at Haryana shrines and were allegedly working “against” the HSGMC.

Sources in the HSGMC said although the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the SGPC are running from pillar to post to prevent the HSGMC from formally start functioning and take possession of the shrines in the state, the HSGMC was unfazed by the stiff opposition from the both.

In view of this, the executive has decided to formally start functioning. Certain decisions relating to the new body will be taken tomorrow, the sources added.

The HSGMC authorities have information that a majority of SGPC employees posted in the state were trying to engineer an SGPC–HSGMC clash to aggravate the standoff to save their jobs. The issue of retaining hundreds of employees on their rolls is likely to be debated at length at the meeting, the sources added.

"A majority of SGPC employees working in Haryana shrines were flouting the directives of the HSGMC. We are not against the employees and we do not want to retrench anybody. But indiscipline and the anti-HSGMC activities will not be tolerated. We would discuss the issue at length," confirmed HSGMC chief Jagdish Singh Jhinda.

Other issues to be taken up include preparing a strategy on how to take control of Haryana Sikh shrines in a peaceful manner and redress of grievances being faced by Sikhs in the state. Various sub committees are likely to be formed to take care of different issues, he added.

Permanent office of the HSGMC will be set up in Kurukshetra after control of the gurdwara was vested in them. For the time being, the committee will function from Kaithal gurdwara, Jhinda said.