MGNREGA Poor Show: Salary Of 12 Govt Staff Withheld In Cuttack

Cuttack: Upset with the poor performance of 12 government employees in executing duties assigned under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Cuttack District Collector has issued order to withhold their salaries with immediate effect.

According to sources, in MGNREGA target achievements, Cuttack is ranked 29^th among the 30 districts of Odisha. Perhaps in a move to improve the district’s MGNREGA performance, Cuttack Collector Dattatreya Bhausaheb Shinde has reportedly directed the Block Development Officers (BDOs) to withhold the salaries of 12 accountants, who also serve as Data Entry Operators.

The 12 were reportedly assigned additional responsibility of providing work under MGNREGA to at least 100 individuals in each gram panchayat (GP). But they failed miserably and could not achieve their targets. Following which, Shinde reportedly has ordered BDOs to withhold their salaries.

The decision to withhold salaries of the 12 employees was communicated by Shinde through letters to BDOs, mandating immediate compliance of his order, sources said.