Khammam: The Mahatma Gandhi NREGS contractual employees are facing difficulties due to a lack of coordination among the ministers. These employees have been asking for a pay scale for a long time.
Technical assistants, computer operators, engineering consultants, and assistant programme officers (APOs) are among those demanding a pay scale. LP Ramaiah, the State general secretary of the MGNREGS Technical Assistants Association, mentioned that the Congress party had promised this before coming to power.
On February 2, during a meeting in Adilabad district, Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister D Anasuya (Seethakka) announced that a pay scale would be implemented for the NREGS contractual staff.
After the announcement, the Panchayat Raj department sent the proposal to the Finance department. Special Chief Secretary (Finance) K Rama Krishna Rao approved it before the Lok Sabha elections. However, the government could not issue an official order due to the election code of conduct.
Recently, Association leaders met with Minister Seethakka in Hyderabad. She assured them that the pay scale would be implemented after August 15.
On the other hand, when the Association leaders met with Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, who oversees the Finance department, in February and again on July 9, he said a Cabinet sub-committee would be set up to address the issue. He mentioned that a decision would be made based on the sub-committee’s report.
Ramaiah pointed out the inconsistency in responses. He noted that Minister Seethakka denied the existence of any sub-committee. “There seems to be a serious lack of coordination among the ministers, or they want to drag on the issue,” he complained.
There are about 4,000 NREGS contractual employees in Telangana. Besides the pay scale, these employees are also asking for a post-retirement benefit of Rs 5 lakh, similar to the Rs 2 lakh retirement benefit announced for Anganwadi workers.
The MGNREGS Technical Assistants Association stated that Minister Seethakka had assured that the pay scale adoption would come into effect from August 15.
