VIJAYAWADA: With precarious financial situation, the State government has decided to defer the salaries of the Chief Minister, ministers, government employees and others.
According to a GO issued on Tuesday night, 100 per cent salaries of the Chief Minister, his cabinet colleagues, MLAs, MLCs, chairpersons and members of all corporations, elected representatives of all local bodies and people holding equivalent posts will be deferred.
Explaining the reasons for the deferment of salaries/wages/honorariums/pensions on gross basis, the government said it had enforced lockdown till April 14 under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, as per the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs for the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of it, barring essential services, all commercial/non-essential services have been shut down. "As a result of these measures, while the revenue streams have totally dried up, the demand for State resources has increased tremendously for contact tracing, quarantining, providing personal protection equipment, drugs, health facilities, and others and for extending financial assistance to the poor people most affected by the lockdown," the government said.
"After considering the situation due to outbreak of coronavirus, the economic consequences of the lockdown, the cessation of the revenue inflows and extra burden on the State’s resources to contain the epidemic and to provide relief to the people affected, the government orders deferment of salaries/wages/remuneration/pensions on gross basis," the order said.
Deferment percentage
CM, Ministers, MLAs, MLCs, chairpersons and members of all corporations, elected representatives of all local bodies & people holding equivalent posts
All India Service Officers (IAS, IPS and IFS)
All other govt employees, including work-charged employees and persons engaged under the category of direct individuals professions and through third party, except Class-IV employees
Class-IV, out-sourcing, contract and the village and ward secretariat employees