Staff of NGOs claim non-payment of dues by Chennai corporation

The project is said to have yielded good results in bringing down the number of cases in these areas.
For representational purposes.
For representational purposes.

CHENNAI: Staff of NGOs who worked with the Chennai Corporation as part of its community intervention programme to contain the spread of Covid-19 in high density areas claim that the Corporation is yet to release salaries for August.

As a part of the MoU that was signed in May for the intervention programme for a period of 124 days, ending September 18, the city corporation roped in 92 NGOs for door-to-door surveys, creating awareness and quarantine monitoring in high density areas. The project is said to have yielded good results in bringing down the number of cases in these areas.

However, although the project was wrapped up, full payment has not been made, leaving staff unsure of when or whether it will come, said NGO Coordinators. “Since they are our staff, we are their point of contact. We get calls everyday from them regarding their payments,” said the programme head of an NGO who did not want to be named. 

“The final financial review took place on September 16 where the NGOs were asked to submit bills and documents. Most of us have already submitted everything that they’d asked for,” she added. The NGO staff are entitled to ` 15,000 per month as salary, including travel allowance. “We took up this job because we did not want to be jobless during the lockdown.

The salary for the whole month of August and half of September (until the end of the project) is yet to come,” said a 32-year-old NGO staff, on anonymity. Another NGO coordinator told Express, “If the project was still on and the payments were delayed, we would have been more confident that it will come at a later date. Now that it is already over, staff are agitated.” When contacted, a senior Corporation official told Express that some NGOs were yet to submit original bills due to which payment is pending. “Things will be cleared this week. Regular interaction is going on with NGOs,” he said. 

Staff’s duty
As part of an MoU signed in May for the intervention programme for a period of 124 days, city corporation roped in 92 NGOs for door-to-door surveys, creating awareness and quarantine monitoring in high density areas

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