Group secretaries unpaid for six years

Aurangabad, June 10:

The group secretaries (Gat Sachivs) of the cooperative societies in Aurangabad district have not received their salaries for the last five to six years as a result their financial situation has deteriorated. One of the group secretary even demanded permission from the chief minister for euthanasia.

The economic situation of the people in rural areas should be improved. For this, co-operative societies were established with the farmers in mind. Through these societies, work was started to provide financial assistance to the farmers at low interest rates. Farmers started getting loans for kharif and rabi crops, seeds and fertilizers. These institutions were a boon for farmers. But over the years, the debt waivers hampered the societies. There are 279 group secretaries working in this organization in the district, out of which the salaries of 132 people have stopped. As a result, their families are facing financial difficulties. A group secretary sent a letter to the chief minister seeking permission for euthanasia.

Two per cent of the amount was not collected

The district bank disburses loans to farmers through co-operative societies. After the recovery of the loan, 2 per cent of the recovery amount goes to the monitoring team. From this amount the monitoring team pays the group secretaries. But 2 per cent amount was not collected. So the salaries were not paid.