Civic sanitation workers in Sargur who do not have houses or residential plots may receive dedicated land after the Karnataka State Safai Karmachari Commission called for five acres to be identified for their housing needs. The direction was issued during a meeting with workers and officials in Sargur on Tuesday, according to a report by Prajavani – Mysuru.
Commission member C. Shankar Ankanashettipura said the government and the Revenue Department should purchase five acres and provide residential plots and housing facilities to workers who lack them. He also urged officials to move quickly on permanent amenities and plot allocation for sanitation workers employed within the Sargur Town Panchayat and Gram Panchayat areas.
The report said the commission member described resolving the plot shortage as a priority and called for the government to distribute sites to eligible beneficiaries. A request has also been made to reserve one acre specifically for the requirements of civic workers. The separate references to five acres and one acre were attributed to the discussions and directions reported at the meeting.
Sargur Tahsildar Mohanakumari said officials would be instructed to identify five acres of government land for the workers. She added that the workers’ concerns had been brought to the attention of the authorities and that they would be examined before remedial measures were taken.
The meeting also raised concerns about wage payments. Ankanashettipura said irregularities had been noticed in the payment of civic workers’ salaries and called for checks to ensure that there was no fraud or malpractice. He said the commission would take steps to conduct an inquiry into the issue.
Other issues discussed included savings and social-security measures for workers’ children, financial security after retirement, construction of individual toilets, sanitation and access to basic facilities. The commission member also said civic workers’ services should be honoured during civic workers’ day observances.
Officials from the taluk administration, Town Panchayat, Taluk Panchayat, Social Welfare Department and Forest Department attended the interaction. The next administrative step identified at the meeting is the examination and identification of government land for the proposed housing and plot needs, along with scrutiny of wage-related concerns.
