57 Vets get pay for project that ended long ago

Timevarda

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posted on 13 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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BANGALORE: In a case of sheer apathy, the state government has been paying salaries and allowances amounting to Rs 4.15 crore to a..

BANGALORE: In a case of sheer apathy, the state government has been paying salaries and allowances amounting to Rs 4.15 crore to as many as 57 staffers of the Veterinary Department though the project for which they were hired ended more than seven years ago.
Despite this, no action has been initiated to fix accountability on anyone.It is only after the Comptroller of Auditor General (CAG) in its report submitted to the government for the year ended March 31, 2010, highlighted the incident that the government seems to have woken up from its slumber and initiated measures to redeploy the staff on other projects.

In its report the CAG highlighted that though the Organisation of International Epizootis (OIE), Rome, had declared India free of Rinderpest Disease in May 2004, 68 staffers who were part of the special cell and recruited earlier to control and eradicate the disease and protect livestock, remained in the unit seven years after the disease was declared extinct.

The Veterinary Department, which has a sanctioned strength of over 17,000, faces a severe staff shortage with over 6,000 vacant posts in different categories for many years.

Belamagi promised to look into the issue and take suitable action against the officials concerned.