Amirthi Zoo workers not paid for 14 months 

Sources said similar situation also prevailed in the Vandalur Zoo at Chennai and at the mini zoo at Kurumbapatti at the foothills of the Shevaroy hills in Salem district. Casual labourers are used to provide food for the animals, clean cages, remove trash, water the zoo garden and plant new saplings as and when required. Their mode of payment is similar to that of Mahatma Gandhi, National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

Sources added that the amount for zoo maintenance would include the daily wages for the casual labour and the food for the animals as fixed annually by the state government. “While earlier their wages were delayed by four or five months, this is the first time that it has been delayed for more than 14 months,” a forest official seeking anonymity said. The official said, “the amount has first to be cleared by the state government before it reaches the district administration which then disburses it to the beneficiaries.” While a two-month delay was due to polls and the attendant model code, officials were unable to explain as to why the delay was so prolonged.

Amirthi zoo is usually allotted around Rs 40 lakh, sources added.

When asked how the labourers still continue to come to work, an official said, “I give them something from my personal funds and hence they report for duty knowing that their dues will ultimately be paid.”

However, those in the know said Forest Minister Dindigul C Sreenivasan was not properly informed of the total amount due as he had been under the mistaken impression that it ran to crores whereas in reality it was only a few lakhs.