With his eyes having set on the “mission repeat” in the 2022 state assembly polls, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur today opened not only state’s fund-starved treasury, but also opened his heart to embrace the state’s employees and pensioners. Thakur announced a bonanza of new pay scales for sarkari babus and pensioners, that will cost state’s treasury over Rs 6000 crore annually, with effect from January 1, 2016. The pay of January 2022 will be payable in February, 2022 as per the revised pay scales, he said.
Now on, Himachal government will spend 50 per cent of budget to foot the fatty salary bill to its employees and pensioners while the remaining 50 per cent will go to 95 per cent of population for development in the state, said the analysts. Himachal has 36 persons per 10,000 of population in the government sector, the highest in the country.
Even after BJP's debacle in recent polls that was followed by its recent three days long marathon meetings of its working committee and core group in Shimla, BJP top leadership has learnt to have stood behind the Jai Ram Thakur government giving its green signal to take the opposition Congress in the coming polls by hook and crook.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has now sat firmly on the saddle. He wasted no time in announcing the new pay scales bonanza to woo an “influencing vote bank of employees and pensioners ahead of completion of his four years in office next month and the coming 2022 polls.
No doubt, the employees are a divided lot as far as political alignments are concerned. But the Thakur government has opened state’s fund-starved treasury to the employees with an open heart, lauding their role in development of Himachal Pradesh.
Addressing the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) of the Himachal Pradesh Non-Gazetted Employees Federation here today Chief Minister said all the pensioners and family pensioners would also be given revised pension and other pensionary benefits from 1 January, 2016. The Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief would be given on revised pay scales and revised pension/family pension.
He said that these new pay scales and revised pension would put additional burden of Rs. 6000 crore annually on the state exchequer.
Jai Ram Thakur also announced implementation of New Pension System (Invalid Pension and Family Pension ) from 15th May, 2003 according to Office Memorandum of 5 May, 2009 of Central Government to the employees of the state government. This will put an additional burden of about Rs. 250 crore on the state exchequer, he said.
He announced reduction in the period of contractual employees of the state government for their regularization from three years to two years. He said that one-one year would also be reduced for regularization/daily wages conversion in respect of daily wage employees, part time workers, water guards and water carriers etc.
He announced release of additional Rs. 10 crore for clearance of pending medical reimbursement bills.
Chief Minister said a committee would be constituted for appointment of family members on compassionate grounds under chairmanship of Chief Secretary. The Committee would give its presentation in next cabinet meeting.
He said the Government will also consider to providing tribal allowance to daily wage and contract employees serving in the tribal areas of the State.
Jai Ram Thakur said NPS employees would now have freedom to choose any Pension Fund for investment for ensuring better returns.
He said that till now these employees have to invest in only those Pension Fund selected by the Government. He said that all the NPS employees were being provided Death-cum-Retirement Gratuity benefits and now the Government has decided to provide Gratuity to NPS employees deprived from this benefit from 15th May, 2003 to 22nd September, 2017.
Chief Minister showed praises on employees saying that they have been playing a major role in the development of the state. It is due to their hard work, dedication and commitment of the employees that the state today has emerged as a role model for other states of the country, he said.
He said that our state is also the first state in the country of population: employee ratio. The covid-19 pandemic adversely affected the economy of the country and employees played major role in combating the pandemic in Himachal, which has come out of the crisis now, he added.
Chief Minister said the state government is spending about 43 per cent of its total budget on employees and pensioners. The salary bill will now increase upto 50 per cent after the implementation of the 6th pay Commission, he said.
He said that during the last about four years the State Government had enhanced the DA of employees and pensioner of the State by 22 per cent and financial benefits of Rs 1320 crore were provided to them. He said that two installments of IR of 12 percent were also provided to them, thereby providing them benefits of Rs 740 crore.
Additional Chief Secretary Finance and Personnel Prabodh Saxena welcomed the Chief Minister and conducted the proceedings of the meeting. Himachal Pradesh is second state after Kerala in Sustainable Developmental Goals of NITI Aayog, he added.
President state NGO federation Ashwani Thakur thanked Chief Minister saying that he has ensured welfare of the employees of the state and got their due without and agitation well in time.
General secretary Rajesh Sharma said Chief Minister well under stands the hardships and difficulties of the common man.
Chief Secretary Ram Subhag Singh, Additional Chief Secretaries Sanjay Gupta, R.D. Dhiman and J.C. Sharma, Principal Secretaries Onkar Sharma, Rajneesh and Subhashish Panda, Secretaries Devesh Kumar, Amitabh Avasthi, Dr. Ajay Sharma, Akshay Sood and other officers also attended the meeting.
