26 DEOs write to Gadkari alleging agency sought bribe to retain them

Some of the DEOs have been working with the Ministry on contract for as long as seven years.

A letter was also sent to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who referred the matter back to the Rural Development Ministry.

The DEOs, who earn a monthly salary of Rs 10, 499, claim their contracts were up for renewal before July 31 and when they were called for an interview on July 19 to clear the renewal and assess paperwork, the consultancy demanded bribes from them.

“Our contract has been renewed many times in the past based purely on our performance. But the new consultancy firm this time asked us for money. How can we pay that much when we earn only Rs 10,000? We have complained to ministry officials, but they don’t seem to be cooperating,” said a DEO employed since 2010.

Manoj Chaturvedi who heads the firm and has been named in the complaints, denied the allegations and told The Indian Express the DEO’s were trying “to build pressure on them and the ministry to retain their jobs”.

“We are not supposed to retain the old staff. If their contract has been renewed for so many years then it is a wrong practice. They are not on the ministry’s payroll but on the contractor’s. They were working on behalf of previous consultants, so why should we hire them. There is no question of renewal, they have to apply afresh,” he said.

Meanwhile, ministry officials said they were still processing the complaint.