Disciplinary action on VAOs mooted

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the State government to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the village administrative officers (VAOs) who deserted their respective villages as well as against their superiors who failed to monitor them properly.Taking judicial notice of the fact that the VAOs or the doctors posted at primary health centres in villages were not discharging their duties by residing in their respective villages, but were instead living in cities or the district headquarters and discharged their functions from there or in the alternative, visited the villages for a few days in a month, the First Bench, comprising Chief Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice T S Sivagnanam, gave the direction.The bench was disposing of a public interest writ petition from K S Vivekanandan of Kabilarmalai in Namakkal district praying for a direction to this effect.The government pleader submitted that the VAOs were instructed time and again to discharge their duties by residing in their respective villages. He also produced a copy of the last such instruction issued on June 15 last.After going through the instructions, the bench it was the duty of the district revenue officers, the revenue divisional officers and the tahsildars to strictly enforce the instructions and to report the status to the State government. They had also been instructed to take disciplinary action against the erring VAOs. If that was so, the bench questioned, then why had the instructions not been followed by the VAOs and no action was taken against them. Giving the direction,  it advised the government to circulate this order to all district collectors and other officers up to the rank of the VAOs.