Telangana: Districts divided into clusters to make salary payments in phases
Hyderabad: Districts across Telangana have been divided into clusters to pay salaries and pensions in phases for government employees. This, as the state government is not able to make payments to all employees and pensioners in one go due to a worsening funds crunch.
The government requires nearly Rs 4,000 crore per month to pay salaries and pensions for its staff.
However, employees from Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts are getting priority over others. They are being paid in the first week of the month while in other districts, the salary payments are done up until the third week, as per alphabetical order.
Employees fear pay cuts this month as the state government is facing a severe financial crisis also as the Centre had stopped releasing loans since April.
This, in the wake of reports that the finance department has proposed a 30 per cent pay cut this month. The state government is yet to allow this cut.
Top officials of the finance department remain tight-lipped on the 30 per cent pay cut proposal. The buzz in employees circles is that officials have submitted the proposal to Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao last week.
"In Undivided AP, the salaries and pensions were credited in the bank accounts of the staff on the last day of the same month. The same continued for a few months after the formation of the Telangana state in June 2014. Later, the salaries began being paid on the first of the next month," said a leader of the Telangana Employees Union.
A leader representing TNGOs Association added, "Salaries and pensions are getting delayed since 2019 when the state government started facing a funds crunch due to heavy expenditure on welfare schemes, irrigation projects, Mission Bhagiratha etc. Thereafter, the salaries were delayed further and began being paid by the 10th of every month. Covid waves in 2020 and 2021 turned the situation worse and the salary payments were further till the 15th of every month."
Now, the situation has worsened to an extent where employees in a few districts -- at the end of the alphabetic order -- are receiving salaries by the 23rd or 25th of the next month.
"When we approach finance and treasury officials, they say they are following the alphabetical order for payments. But employees in Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts are receiving salaries by the 3rd or 5th of every month," said another employee leader.
According to employee unions, officials have divided six districts into each cluster as per alphabetical order to cover all the 33 districts. The additional three small districts are also covered in these six clusters. While the first cluster receives salaries in the first week in a particular month, it would be shifted to the sixth cluster in the subsequent months. In a similar manner, officials shuffle clusters month after month to ensure that all clusters receive salaries between the first week and third week; and in some cases the fourth week of the next month.
Employees are upset at their leaders for maintaining a silence on this and not questioning the government.
"Earlier, union leaders used to be aggressive and questioned governments if salaries and pensions were delayed. They used to announce agitation programmes in protest against such actions. These days, the leaders cozy up to the ruling party for their personal benefits," said an employee.
