Govt to recognise village assistants as Group 'D' employees

The state government will consider village assistants as Group 'D' employees, Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa informed the Legislative Assembly on Friday.

Replying to the issue raised by Leader of the Opposition Jagadish Shettar and N H Konaraddi (JD-S), Thimmappa said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has given a positive response to the long standing demand of village assistants to recognise them as Group 'D' employees. The issue was discussed during the pre-budget meeting pertaining to the Revenue department chaired by Siddaramaiah recently, he said.

Replying to another query, the minister said the government will initiate strict action against those responsible for misappropriation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) funds in Surpur taluk of Yadgir district.

He said Rs 1.8 crore MGNREGS funds had been diverted for other purposes. The chief executive officer of the jurisdictional zilla panchayat has submitted his report regarding the misappropriation and, action will be initiated soon, Thimmappa said.