Cuttack Collector withholds salary of 12 ADEOs over MGNREGA poor performance

In a bold move addressing performance concerns, the district administration of Cuttack directed BDOs to withhold the salary of several ADEOs over non-performance. Cuttack District Collector has ordered the suspension of salaries for 12 Accountants who additionally function as Data Entry Operators.

This decision has been made due to their inadequate execution of duties under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act programme (MGNREGA). As per reports, Cuttack has performed very badly in terms of MGNREGA and is placed at the 29th spot in the state.

As per reports, the ADEOs had been instructed to provide work under MGNREGA to at least 100 people in every panchayat. However, they miserably failed to perform the assigned work, thereby forcing people to go to work as migrant labours.

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Expressing dissatisfaction, the district collector issued directions via letters sent to the Block Development Officers (BDOs) across all blocks, instructing them to enforce this order immediately. These actions underline the administrative commitment to ensuring the efficient implementation of MGNREGA goals.

This measure illustrates the increased focus on accountability and effectiveness in rural employment programmes, integral to supporting sustainable livelihoods in numerous communities throughout India.

It remains to be seen how this decision will impact programme delivery and employee performance improvement in the future.

Meanwhile, the MGNREGA has been dying a slow death due to various reasons. The main reason is attributed to the ridiculously low wage rate which is less than the corresponding state minimum wages. Low wages have resulted in lack of interest among workers in working for MGNREGA schemes.