Stateemployees’basicpay up 2.6 times

The bonanza, with retrospective effect from 2016, to cost govt ₹15,300cr a year

MUMBAI: Here’s good news for more than 18 lakh employees of the state government. Former bureaucrat KP Bakshi-led committee on implementation of the seventh pay commission, in its report submitted to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday, recommended hiking 2.6-times the basic pay (pay band and grade pay) and pension amounts for state employees.

Overall, the report said this could increase the burden on the state’s existing wage bill by 16% to 17%. This works out to a burden of around ₹15,300 crore annually. The burden could go up to ₹21,530 crore if the government fills in vacancies that have been put on hold for the past three years.

The report has also recommended that employees be given arrears from 2016, but these should be paid in installments to balance out welfare and development spending of the government. The state had promised to implement the pay hike from January 1 in the winter session

of the state legislature even before the report was submitted.

In the wake of the drought, which has hit nearly 151 tehsils, the state may try to convince its employees to delay the hike by a few more months.

“We have received the report

on Wednesday and it will be studied by a committee before it comes to the cabinet. We will decide the date of implementation after discussion with the employee unions as the state government is facing a huge challenge of drought mitigation,” said Sudhir Mungantiwar, finance minister. He said they would not delay the hikes beyond a reasonable time. The government has kept aside ₹10,000 crore for the seventh pay commission payouts in this year’s budget.

“The wage bill of the state is roughly around ₹90,000 crore (going by existing strength and not the sanctioned strength of employees) and the pay hike will increase this burden by 16% to 17%. The pay escalation is on the lines of the Centre, roughly around 2.6 times the basic pay,” said a senior official, in the know of the report.

He said the report had also recommended time-bound promotions to all government employees in light of representation made by the union about stagnation in careers.

The promotions are, however, not linked to performance, but to work experience, barring cases where the employee is facing disciplinary action or inquiries.

“As the benefits have to be given with effect from January 1, 2016, the payouts towards arrears for three years account to more than ₹45,000 crore. This amount will be deposited in the General Provident Funds of the employees in a few installments over the next two to three years. The monthly additional burden would be around ₹1,750 crore and government’s endeavour would be to delay the burden at least till next financial year,” said an official from the finance minister.

The Bakshi Committee, headed by retired IAS officer KP Bakshi, was appointed in January 2017 and included two officers from finance and GAD.