Vacancies derail welfare schemes
RAYAGADA: With key posts in the district administration lying vacant, implementation of several welfare schemes has taken a hit in Rayagada. Shortage of officials in various departments has slowed down development work in the district.As per reports, the posts of Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Project Director of DRDA, Project Administrator of ITDA, District Welfare Officer (DWO), District Project Coordinator of Sarva Sikhya Abhiyan and Executive Officer of Rayagada Municipality are lying vacant. The positions are being managed by in-charge officials who are already overburdened with work, sources said.
Except Muniguda, Padmapur and Ramnaguda, the remaining eight blocks of the district have no Tehsildars. Moreover, three posts of Block Development Officer (BDO) are lying vacant. The vacancies have hit progress of major works besides affecting revenue collection due to lack of regular monitoring.
Moreover, as the DWO post is lying vacant from February, there is no one to monitor around 50,000 inmates of 130 Ashram and Sevashram residential schools and address the problems of the students. Rayagada BDO Rajendra Majhi has been given the additional charge of DWO.
While various welfare schemes for social and economic development of the weaker section in tribal dominated districts have been launched, the Government is yet to fill up the vacant posts of implementing officials. Various development projects are moving at a snail’s pace due to shortage of officials in Rayagada, said District Congress Committee president Durga Prasad Panda.
The apathy of Government towards administrative vacancies, particularly in the KBK region, is taking a toll on development of tribal-dominated districts, Panda said and claimed that many posts of Assistant Collector and Deputy Collector are lying vacant in the Rayagada district.