The Odisha government has decided to take strict action against government employees who refuse to provide maintenance to their wives and children despite clear court orders. Under the new measures, funds will be directly deducted from the salaries of such employees and deposited straight into the bank accounts of their wives and children. According to an official statement released by the Chief Minister's Office on Sunday, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has taken a very stern stance on this recurring issue.
Action prompted by persistent public grievances
During state-level public grievance hearings, authorities were consistently receiving two to three complaints each time from women and children who expressed distress over government employees withholding mandatory maintenance or alimony payments. Government records revealed that several male employees deliberately withheld financial support from their dependents despite explicit directives issued by courts. Similar grievances regarding unpaid alimony in divorce-related legal disputes had also piled up, prompting urgent administrative intervention.
Direct salary deductions ordered
Viewing the situation with utmost seriousness, the Chief Minister issued directives ensuring that the exact amount mandated by courts will now be deducted directly from the defaulting employee's monthly paycheck and electronically transferred to the bank accounts of the estranged wife or children. The Chief Minister stated that being a state government employee, defying a court order and committing such injustice against one's own family is completely unacceptable to the state administration.
Role of Drawing and Disbursin Officers
Following the directives issued by the Chief Minister, new guidelines assign the responsibility of deduction directly to the departmental Drawing and Disbursing Officer. As soon as an official court order regarding maintenance payments is received, the DDO will deduct the specified amount while preparing the employee's monthly salary bill and deposit it electronically into the designated bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
Integration with Human Resource Management System
To streamline the entire process, the Chief Minister also instructed officials to integrate all court-directed maintenance cases with the Human Resource Management System. The primary objective of this technological integration is to make the administrative workflow much more organized, automated, and timely, ensuring strict compliance with judicial directives without any room for delays.
