KCR’s dole for unemployed soon, says KTR

TRS sensing resentment from jobless youth over increasing retirement age

KTR ANNOUNCEMENT nearly mid-way through the government’s term, seemingly coincided with the alleged leak of the Pay Revision Commission (PRC) report.

In an announcement that caught many unawares, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) working president K. Taraka Rama Rao on Thursday said that very soon, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao would announce a monthly allowance for the unemployed youth in the state.

Though the ruling TRS party included an unemployment allowance of `3,000 per month for every ‘eligible’ unemployed youth in its 2018 poll manifesto, KTR’s announcement about an announcement very soon, nearly mid-way through the government’s term, seemingly coincided with the alleged leak of the Pay Revision Commission (PRC) report.

The C.R. Biswal PRC committee recommended enhancing the retirement age of all government employees to 60 years from the present 58 years.

Another significance attached to the announcement was that Rama Rao, deviating from the regular practice of the ruling party, in which Chief Minister Chandrashekar

Rao comes out with the disruptive moves and catches everyone by surprise, revealed a government policy decision in advance, at a time when the public opinion seems to have accepted him as a CM-to-be in a short time.

Official sources told Deccan Chronicle that the TRS government had been “sensing some resentment” from unemployed youth over enhancement of the government employees’ retirement age.

“We have been instructed by the Chief Minister to immediately initiate the process of promotions at various levels, which would also create vacancies at the lower and entry levels,” a senior official said.

The government wanted to reach out to unemployed youth, who would be angry that if people retire two years later, the chances of any major recruitment drives in government during this TRS term would not happen, through this allowance and a promise to take up recruitments at the earliest, he added.

The IT and industries minister was speaking on the occasion of the electricity labour organisation meeting at Telangana Bhavan here. On the dot, he said that the TRS government was keen to fill up 50,000 vacancies in various departments soon.

The enhancement of retirement age and increase in salaries comes at a time when several youth and student organisations are demanding that the government take up a massive recruitment drive.