SALEM: In sheer abuse of power, top officers of Sarvodaya Sangh have been employing their family members as staff of the sangh and pay them hefty salaries.
Several branches of Sarvodaya Sangh in Coimbatore as well as other districts have husband - wife, father - son, mother - son/ daughter working in the same place. In some branches of Avarampalayam Sarvodaya Sangh, there are three members of the same family employed, holding various administrative posts.
For instance, Avarampalayam Sarvodaya Sangh secretary S Sivakumar has appointed his wife Mallika as the administrator and his daughter Divya Roopa as ‘in-charge’ of the sangh’s head office. Together, the three have been taking home as salary of more than 2 lakh a month.
When contacted by TOI, secretary of Avarampalayam sarvodaya sangh S Sivakumar admitted that his family members were working in the sangh’s head office. “There are no restrictions to employ family members of existing staff as per Sangh bylaws,” he said. He said that the Sangh could appoint anyone for its welfare.
S Marimuthu, an activist who is fighting against corruption in Khadi Village and Industries Commission, under which Sarvodaya Sangh functions, said branch managers do not follow transparent recruitment process. He said there are no norms or guidelines on recruitment of staff for Sarvodaya Sangh to manage day-to-day affairs of the branches. Officers exploit this gaping hole in the system, create posts and employ their family members, for a hefty pay, he said.
TOI found that Avarampalayam Sarvodaya Sangh’s treasurer R K Palanisamy’s son Lokeswaran is currently working as the in-charge of the central khadi godown in the sangh’s main office. Similarly, Saravanampatti branch head S Nirmala Mary’s son Alwyn is the in-charge of the same branch.
Outside Coimbatore district, head of Srivilliputhur branch in Virudhunagar district S Muthuramalingam’s wife is the in-charge of the same branch and so is Sengottai branch (Tenkasi district) head Mariappan’s wife. The family members have been working for years.
Secretary of the Sarvodaya Sangh is the appointing authority. Sangh insiders say that there are no applications invited from willing candidates for vacancies and no interviews are conducted to select the staff.
In addition to recruiting family members of officers, there are also instances of people continuing to work even after their retirement in the same position. For instance, Edaiyarpalayam branch of Coimbatore district head K Krishnaveni retired from service on April 30, 2019. She is still working in the post. Similarly, Avarampalayam branch head N Tamilselvi who retired in 2018 and C Muthukannu, branch head of Neelambur who retired in 2019, also continue to work.
Director of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) B N Suresh said that he has to check the sangh bylaws before commenting on the issue. “Each sangh has its own bylaws and the office bearers have powers to change it,” he said.
