Telangana: Bill for deferred payment of salaries passed

Hyderabad: The State Assembly on Monday passed the Bill allowing deferred payment of salaries to government employees, pensioners, civil servants and also the elected representatives in the wake of low receipt of revenue amid Covid-19 pandemic. Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao will take a decision and fix the schedule for releasing the deferred salaries by this month end.

Introducing the Telangana Disaster and Public Health Emergency (Special Provisions) Bill, 2020 in the State Assembly on Monday, Finance Minister T Harish Rao said the State revenues had taken a beating due to Covid-19 pandemic, with the State government earning only Rs 518 crore in April this year. While the revenue receipts were estimated at around Rs 75,125 crore for the last five months during the current fiscal, the State realised only Rs 49,131 crore due to the pandemic. “We lost Rs 7,851 crore in State-owned taxes alone,” he explained.

In the wake of low revenues, the Bill was introduced in place of an ordinance brought earlier allowing the State government to defer salaries payable to the government employees and the elected representatives. Accordingly, the salaries were deferred by 75 per cent to elected representatives, 60 per cent to civil servants and 50 per cent to the government employees.

The Telangana Public Employment (Regulation of Age of Superannuation) (Amendment) Bill 2020 was also adopted in the Assembly allowing an increased age limit for superannuation of professors and assistant professors working in five AYUSH government colleges in the State. Following the approval of the Bill, the age limit for supperannuation of 52 professors and assistant professors has been increased from 58 years to 65 years.

Harish Rao explained that the State government was compelled to increase the age limit for superannuation of the teaching staff keeping in view of future of medical students studying in these colleges. He said due to pending court cases, the vacant posts could not be filled in these colleges. “Without adequate number of qualified staff as stipulated by the Medical Council of India, permissions can be cancelled for these AYUSH medical colleges. We will take up recruitments in vacant posts soon after the legal hurdles are cleared,” he added.

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