The recent enhancement of honorarium by the State government for home guards has not brought any cheer to those deployed in various offices of the Transport Department across the State. At least 240 home guards working in these establishments have been deprived of their remuneration for the past five months.
Last October, they were paid around Dasara festival. Even that was a lump sum amount, paid after a gap of over 10 months. The home guards in the department are working as drivers, office and check post assistants and even in vigilance and enforcement wing, without monthly income.
“Only 40 home guards working in Transport department in Ranga Reddy district have been paid, while over 240 are yet to get their honorarium,” said Rajendra Reddy, president, Telangana Home Guards Welfare Association.
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It is only the Transport department, which doesn’t pay on time, he said and added that home guards were facing a tough time in the absence of income and often borrowed money at higher rate of interest.
Several home guards end up driving auto rickshaws, work at shopping malls and other private sectors as part-time employees. “I am the sole breadwinner of my family and have not received my remuneration for the past five months. The raise in payment is only on paper,” said a home guard working at the Transport Commissioner’s office in Khairtabad here.
“We have to pay for our children’s school fees, house rents and other pending payments,” he said.
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A home guard lamented that the Transport department has even failed to pay deputation allowances of ₹25 per day.
J. Pandurang Naik, Joint Transport Commissioner, said all arrears will be cleared in a couple of days as the file relating to home guards payments has been cleared by the Transport Minister. “The proceedings will be issued to the treasury on Monday and the honorarium will be credited to their bank accounts shortly,” he said.