Unpaid Rents, Village Secretariats Shut !

[Anta Assamey]

In a major embarrassment to the YCP government, owners of the Village Secretariat spaces have shut the doors owing to unpaid rent. At Municipal minister Adimulapu Suresh’s constituency, Yerragondapalem, Narsaiahpalem, the owner of the village secretariat office has locked up the doors of the secretariat.

Venkataramulu, the owner of the village secretariat said, “In 2019 I was approached to rent out the space I owned for the secretariat. An agreement for Rs 4000 a month was made and in the last three years, I was paid only Rs 50,000. Despite repeated requests, the officials did not clear the dues. I have no other option rather to shut the secretariat,” said Venkataramulu.

This is the second instance that the Village Secretariat office was closed due to unpaid rent. Surprisingly the first such instance was reported in AP CM YS Jagan’s home district Kadapa. At Gundem Cheruvu village of Jammalamadugu mandal, the owner of the village secretariat building locked it up with rent being unpaid for the last ten months.

With their work spaces being seized, the staff of the village secretariat had no other option to work outside the premises so as people may approach them with their concerns. The Village Secretariat concept of the YCP government was a huge hit but it has its scars too. The owners who rented out their spaces said that they have no clue whether the rent amount would be cleared with no proper response from the officials.