Odisha Government Withholds 91 Senior Officials' Salaries Over Unresolved Public Grievances

The disciplinary action affects numerous high-ranking officials including SP Rural, sub-collectors, BDOs, and medical authorities.

Bhubaneswar:

The salaries of 91 senior officers in Odisha's Cuttack district have been withheld due to their failure to address public grievances submitted through the Chief Minister's Grievance Cell (CMGC), according to official documentation. Among those affected is the district's Superintendent of Police (Rural).

The district's additional magistrate issued formal instructions to the treasury department to suspend payment to these officers.

According to the official communication, grievances filed via the 'Janasunani' portal remained unaddressed despite numerous reminders, persuasion attempts, and discussion during review meetings.

The Chief Minister's Grievance Cell, which conducts weekly monitoring of grievance resolution, expressed "utter displeasure" regarding Cuttack's deteriorating performance, highlighting that the district's position in statewide grievance resolution rankings had significantly declined.

"You are therefore requested to withhold the salary of the defaulting officers as per the list enclosed herewith for November 2025 until further instructions from the Collector," the directive stated.

Beyond the SP (Rural), the affected officials include sub-collectors, Block Development Officers (BDOs), tehsildars, the chief district medical officer, and the vice chairman of Cuttack Development Authority.

An official explained that this measure aims to establish accountability and accelerate the resolution of pending grievances, particularly those that undergo weekly review by the CMGC every Monday.

Opposition party BJD claimed this situation demonstrates that the public grievance redressal system in the state has become entirely dysfunctional.

"The BJP's claim that Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi is directly resolving the grievances of the people by hearing the grievances himself is far from the truth," stated BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)