EC issues order barring Andhra govt's ward, village volunteers from duties

The Election Commission has issued an order barring the Andhra Pradesh government's ward and village volunteers from carrying out their activities such as disbursing welfare benefits, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena said on Saturday.

The Commission has also asked the state government to refrain from releasing the results of Andhra Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test (APTET) and conducting the Andhra Pradesh Teacher Recruitment Test (APTRT) while the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is in force.

On the Election Commission's order on ward and village volunteers, Meena said they should not be engaged for extending government schemes and welfare benefits, disbursing pensions and other related activities during the elections.

"Cell phones, tabs and other devices given to the volunteers should be immediately deposited with the respective District Electoral Officers," he said in a press release.

Further, he observed that the poll body directed that government schemes should be delivered via an alternative mode like deploying government officials.

The Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP government introduced the decentralised governance delivery mechanism through ward and village volunteers. Each volunteer looks after 50 households.

Elections for the 175-member Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh are scheduled for May 13 and the counting of votes is slated for June 4.