A civic body in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district is still using the obsolete Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes to pay salaries to its employees.
On November 27, about 250 casual workers employed with the Garhakota Nagar Palika in Sagar district got a shock when they went to the cash counter to collect their salaries. They were paid in old Rs 500 notes.
Though the workers requested the town committee officials to deposit their salaries in their bank accounts, they were forced to accept the salaries in old notes.
The officials, however, claimed that they were not certain about the legal status of the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.
Sandeep Sablok, the Congress spokesperson of Sagar division, said it was an “anti-national” act on part of town committee officials to pay casual workers in invalid currency notes.
He said some of the officials may have done it with the intention of channelising black money.
“A high-level inquiry must be ordered and strict action must be taken against guilty officials,” Sablok said.
Meanwhile, the CMO of Garhakota Nagar Palika, P.S. Rajput, said the issue was being investigated.