PUDUCHERRY: Deepavali bonus for employees of State Public Sector Undertakings, Boards and Corporations, Societies and autonomous bodies under the government and cooperatives will be the same as last year, Chief Minister N Rangasamy said here on Wednesday.
Besides, an ex-gratia amount would be paid by PSUs, Corporations and Societies to employees of various State corporations, autonomous bodies depending upon the allotted surplus for the current year. But just as last year, the ex-gratia would not exceed a maximum limit of Rs 11,000 per employee.
With the announcement of bonus, around 30,000 government employees will get Rs 3,454 each as bonus and around 15,000 employees of the public sector undertakings and autonomous bodies will get a bonus ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 11,000. As in previous years, the financial implication for bonus and ex-gratia would be around Rs 7-Rs 8 crore.
Talking to the media, Rangasamy also said that the defunct Anglo French Textile mills (AFT ) mill workers too would get Deepavali bonus.
It may be recalled that bonus and ex-gratia of Rs 11,000 had been paid to each employee of the mill last year. A total of 1,726 employees and workers were paid bonus leading to an expenditure of Rs 1.78 crore to the government.
The Chief Minister also said that steps are being taken to provide free dhotis and saris, to Adi Dravidars and Backward class people living below the poverty line, ahead of the festival. These would be distributed through the Anganwadi centers and community halls in respective constituencies, he added.
The chief minister further said that since the public did not coming forward to receive the free wheat supplied through Fair Price Shops (FSPs) on the ground that it is of sub-standard quality, the supply of wheat was stopped.
The government, now, proposes to supply half-a-kilogram of sunflower oil in place of the two kg of free wheat, before Deepavali, he further added.