DWCRA Women Salaries Withheld To Pay For TDP Poll Promises

Amaravati: As many as 27,000 DWCRA women across the State have been waiting for about two years about for their salaries to be credited into their bank accounts. Allegations abound that their salary arrears amounting to a staggering Rs 65 crore have been diverted by senior officials towards fulfilling the promises made by the TDP government.

DWCRA women were appointed to clean the toilets in 27,000 schools out of the 43,000 government schools in the State. To clean the toilets in the primary schools the women were paid a sum of Rs 2,000 per month, for the upper primary schools a sum of Rs 2,500 were paid and for those working in the High School, the women were paid a sum of Rs 4,000 per month. These DWCRA women were appointed on a contract basis for the job, and they were mostly SC, ST and BC women. The funds released for operating these schools were through the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) program constituted by the Central Government.

For the past two years more than 27,000 DWCRA women worked in these schools and had to be paid Rs 180 crore as salary dues. The State government constituted the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty as Society under the Department of Rural Development to disburse the SSA funds. In January a sum of Rs 65 crore was released , but officials say that these funds were diverted by the Finance Department to finance the schemes promised by Chandrababu Naidu during the past elections.

Meanwhile the hapless DWCRA women are running from pillar to post for their pending salary dues. Despite their request to the Mandal Community Coordinator officials, they are yet to receive the dues or any proper clarification from the officials regarding the Rs 65 crore funds meant for their two-year salary payments.

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