BENGALURU: The euphoria of the Congress leaders appointed as heads of various boards and corporations has turned into disappointment. A month after taking charge, some of them are complaining about the lack of decent office space, support staff and low emolument. In fact, some of them have already demanded a hike in their perks and allowances, which were fixed over five years ago.
One such chairman, who did not want to be named, told Express that he has an office, but is yet to be assigned his personal support staff.
Meanwhile, some of the heads are still confused about the work demarcation as they have to work within the broader framework of the department concerned. For instance, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) work under the Transport Department.
Many of the boards and corporations like the Karnataka Coir Development Board, the Karnataka Compost Development Board and the Karnataka Temperance Board are struggling due to huge losses and meagre grants. “It has become almost impossible to do anything and we have become jobless,” one corporation chairman said.
M R Rangaswamaiah, chairman of the Temperance Board, was more candid in presenting the situation. He claimed that the board had no resources to take up major initiatives to fulfil its mandate of creating awareness against alcoholism. He too sought a hike in the salary of the heads of these bodies.
Presently, they are entitled to `9,000 as monthly honorarium, `10,000 as House Rent Allowance (HRA) for those who do not own a house, 300 litres of fuel for their car for undertaking state tours and `10,000 as sumptuary allowance. These emoluments were fixed many years ago and they need to be revised according to the present conditions, Rangaswamaiah said.
Some of the heads have decided to send a petition on this to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Rangaswamaiah said he has already submitted a letter to the chief minister for a hike in perks and a substantial increase in the allocation for the Temperance Board.