T'gana CM Keeps Poll Promise, Gives Nod to Salary Hike, Increase in Retirement Age of Govt Employees

In a new year gift to employees, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Tuesday announced a salary hike of all government employees, an increase in the age of superannuation and recruitment in all state departments. Over 9.37 lakh employees will benefit from the decision.

The chief minister said salary hike will apply to grant-in-Aid, work charged employees, daily wage employees, fulltime and part-time contingent employees, home guards, Anganwadi workers, contract and outsourcing employees, Asha workers, Vidya volunteers, all those recipients of honorariums and pensioners.

He also said salaries of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) will also be increased and the state government will bear the financial burden arising from the salary hike if needed.

Besides the salary hike, the chief minister also announced February as the deadline to solve employee-related matters, including raising the retirement age, promotions, transfers, formulation of simplified service rules, and providing employees with all benefits paid in full on the day of retirement and bidding them a respectful farewell.

A recruitment policy will be announced after February after identifying all vacant posts in the government.

He appointed a three-member committee led by Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, Principal Secretary (Finance) Ramakrishna Rao, Water Resources Principal Secretary Rajat Kumar. The committee will study all issues pertaining to the employees and the Pay Revision Committee (PRC) report in the first week of January. This will be followed by a meeting with employee unions regarding salary hike, promotions, retirement age in the second week of January. Based on the recommendations of the committee, the state cabinet will meet and take the final decision.

“After the formation of Telangana State, 42 per cent fitment was given to the government employees and a hike in their salaries. The government has decided to hike the salaries to the extent possible based on its financial condition,” the chief minister announced.

Explaining the promotion and recruitment process, the TRS chief said, “due to dispute with Andhra Pradesh, it was not possible to give promotions in Revenue and the Police departments. Now that those disputes are resolved, recruitment in all departments will begin from February after evaluation.”

On the decisions of the government, employees’ unions met the Chief Minister and thanked him.

The ruling Telangana Rastra Samiti (TRS) party had promised increasing retirement age of the government employees from 58 years to 60 in its 2018 election manifesto.

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