The Budget presented by Chief Minister Siddarmaiah on Friday made no explicit mention of the implementation of the final recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission, raising concerns among State government employees.
Following a protest earlier this year, the State government, then led by Basavaraj Bommai, implemented an interim relief (IR) of 17%, which costs the State exchequer around ₹12,000 crore annually. Meanwhile, the term of the commission led by the former Chief Secretary Sudhakar Rao has been extended for another six months, on the request of the commission, Mr. Siddaramaiah told the Legislative Council recently. Its final report is expected by November, given its extended tenure will end by then, sources said.
While there is no clarity on how much pay hike will the commission finally recommend, estimates in the government peg the overall cost of implementation of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations at over ₹20,000 crore, which will stretch the resources further.
Given the final report will come mid-way through the fiscal year and there is no mention of it in the Budget speech, employees are concerned. What has made them even more jittery is that Mr. Siddaramaiah, while responding to a question on the issue in the Council recently, had said that the decision to implement the 7th Pay Commission would be taken after considering the financial status of the exchequer. Given that the implementation of the five guarantee schemes has put considerable pressure on the government to rationalise and mobilise resources, many fear implementation of the pay commission may be postponed.
C.S. Shadakshari, president, Karnataka State Employees’ Association, said they hoped that the final report of the commission is implemented immediately after the final report is submitted, by taking a vote on account in the Assembly. “Whenever it is implemented, we want it to come into force retrospectively from April 1, 2023, from when the interim relief has been implemented,” he said.
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