Aizawl: In total, 37 govt employees have so far been punished for engaging substitutes, mizoram minister for personnel & administrative reforms (DP&AR), K Sapdanga, informed the state legislative assembly on Tuesday. Of these, the services of 29 employees have been terminated.Replying to supplementary questions during question hour, Sapdanga said eight employees received minor punishments, which were recorded in their annual confidential reports (ACRs). He said such entries could negatively affect their future service prospects.Sapdanga said monitoring whether employees continue to engage proxies is the responsibility of department secretaries, heads of departments, and controlling authorities.After assuming power in late 2023, the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) declared its intention to end the practice of govt employees hiring substitutes. On June 19, 2024, the DP&AR issued an office memorandum prohibiting the engagement of proxies.Data collected in Jan 2025 revealed that 3,365 employees across 44 departments were engaging substitutes. Of these, 2,070 cited health reasons, 703 pointed to family problems, and 350 mentioned personal issues.Disturbingly, nine proxies continued working even after the deaths of the employees who had engaged them. Another finding showed that six wives of pastors — three each in the school education department and the health & family welfare department — were hiring substitutes because major church denominations such as the Presbyterian, Baptist, and United Pentecostal Church (UPC) prohibit pastors’ spouses from govt employment.Some employees also engaged proxies to pursue religious work such as evangelism. Among those citing personal problems were 80 employees with mental health issues, 75 who did not know local languages, 19 alcoholics, and 20 struggling with drug addiction.At least 32 employees admitted hiring proxies because they had already crossed 60 years of age but had not yet availed pensions, having falsified their dates of birth.
