24-04-2025
Gram Panchayat workers organise rally near JSP office, urge Pawan Kalyan to resolve their issues
In response to a call given by the union leaders, many Panchayat workers converged on Mangalagiri on Thursday and organised a rally from the underpass near NRI Hospital to the Jana Sena Party office to bring their issues, including demand for hike in their wages, issuance of identity cards, and benefits like PF, to the notice of Deputy Chief Minister and Panchayat Raj Minister K. Pawan Kalyan.
The workers did not receive any hike in their wages, which remained between ₹4,000 and ₹12,000, for the past eight years, Mr. Umamaheswara Rao said, adding that municipal workers for same work received ₹21,000 or more.
According to the Government Orders issued in 1999 and 2019, the Panchayat workers should be given identity cards, minimum wages and Provident Fund, but none of these were being implemented, the union leader said.
There were around 48,000 Panchayat workers and Green Ambassadors, as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission, employed in 13,000 Grama Panchayats in the State, he said.
GO issued in 2019
In 2019, the TDP government issued GO. RT. No 132 that instructed officials concerned to issue ID cards to all employees working on full time/part time/contract basis. The GO also mentions sanctioning of ₹15,000 towards funeral charges for the workers who died on duty. The expenditure shall be met within the general funds of Gram Panchayats, it says.
D. Venkataramayya, another member of the union, said that this GO had not been implemented till now. 'Moreover, the Green Ambassadors' wages have been pending for the past one year. It has been 10 months since the NDA government came to power. During this time, we tried to meet Mr. Pawan Kalyan more than four times. We never got an appointment,' he said.
The leaders collected signatures from all workers and submitted their representations to MLC P. Hariprasad who assured them that he would bring their issues to the notice of Mr. Pawan Kalyan. The leaders warned of State-wide agitations if their issues were not resolved immediately.
