A similar strange situation was seen in Pedda Wangara mandal of Mahabubabad district of Telangana on Tuesday, when the landlord hung a lock on the main gate of the Mandal Parishad Development Officer (MPDO) office. The reason was very legitimate but administratively shameful. Office rent had not been paid for the last 30 months. When officers and employees arrived for duty on Tuesday morning, they had to stand outside in the scorching sun instead of going inside. There was a crowd of people outside the office till noon and government work came to a complete standstill.
Offices running on rent since the formation of the board
Since the formation of Pedda Wangara Mandal, government offices have been running in rented buildings. The affected landlord had given his building for a government office in the hope that the government money would come on time. But the reality turned out to be the opposite. The landlord alleges that the administration has not given him even a penny for the last two and a half years (30 months). Despite several appeals and requests to the officials, when they received only empty assurances, they were forced to choose this path of protest.
Please get my outstanding rent: Landlord requested
The pain of the landlord was clearly visible in front of the people present at the spot and the media. He appealed to the officials with folded hands, ‘Please get my outstanding rent paid. I waited for a long time, but now it is becoming difficult to run the house.
Due to the office being locked, the villagers who had come from far-flung villages for work remained sitting outside for hours. Some people had come for necessary certificates and some for information about welfare schemes, but everyone was disappointed due to the lockdown. This incident is not just a rent dispute, but it shows how the government machinery at the ground level is struggling with lack of funds or delay in files. On one hand, the government claims ‘good governance’, while on the other hand, non-payment of rent for tehsil and mandal level offices tarnishes the credibility of the system.
