Hyderabad: It is no longer easy being a state government employee in Telangana. Gone are the days when a government job assured one of ‘peace of mind’ without any tension regarding receiving the salary in time.
Things have worsened in the last two years for a majority of the 3.5 lakh state government employees who are unsure about when salary would be credited to their bank accounts.
“Even the milkman looks at me suspiciously when I say I need time to pay the bill as I no longer receive my salary of Rs 45,000 on the first of every month,” said J. Vanaja, a government secondary grade teacher from Jangaon district. "I am no longer able to pay the school fee for my children or rent on time. As a teacher I am used to keeping my word but the current situation is making me feel guilty,” she told Deccan Chronicle.
Meanwhile, there is one class of people in the state who do not have to worry about getting their salaries on time, month after month. Their number is small, 159 in all, but they represent the rest of the population in Telangana as their MLAs and MLCs.
Each of the 119 MLAs and 40 MLCs receives a salary of Rs 2.75 lakh (including monthly accommodation allowance of Rs 25,000). They are also eligible for Rs 30 lakh auto loan with no limit on the number of times they can avail this loan as long as they fully settle the first one.
This is even as most state government employees have become defaulters, including of EMIs, which are linked to their salaries.
Incidentally, employees receive their salaries based on the alphabetical order of their district’s name barring those posted in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts. They are paid in the first week of the month while in other districts, salary payments are made till the third week, as per the alphabetical order.
A senior assistant in the roads and buildings department in Nizamabad district, who requested anonymity, said that delay in salaries has adversely impacted his life and those of other employees. “There was a time when I would receive my salary on the first of every month. Now, we are hoping to at least get the salaries within the month," he said.
He further said the silence of unions that represent government employees in this matter was not only perplexing but also unfortunate. “The union leaders have turned voiceless on the issue of delayed salaries,” he said.
The Salary Wheel
> Salary bill has increased after the formation of the state
> Two PRCs in 2015 & 2021 with fitments of 43 & 30 per cent were given, highest in the country
> Nearly 25 per cent of state government's tax revenue goes towards payment of salaries and pensions
> Disbursal of salaries hit by Covid lockdowns
> Salaries paid on 25th of every month
> Districts divided into clusters for phased payments
> Six districts form one cluster as per their alphabetical order
