VIJAYAWADA: Stating that employees are an integral part of the government, and the government is committed to their welfare, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has agreed to constitute the 12th Pay Revision Commission (PRC) and release two pending Dearness Allowances (DAs).
The Chief Minister held a meeting with leaders of employee associations representing the Joint Staff Council at his camp office in Undavalli on Saturday.
Explaining the financial stringency of the State, he placed the revenue and expenditure figures before the employee association leaders. Despite the financial challenges, the government is committed to addressing employees’ issues, he said.
Naidu agreed to release the pending DAs due from July 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025. These two DAs will be paid with effect from October 1, 2026. He also gave consent to credit the surrender leave dues pertaining to 2022 to employees’ accounts by the coming Sankranti. The Chief Minister expressed willingness to provide one additional surrender leave to police personnel during the ensuing Dasara.
The government has also decided to restore the Additional Quantum of Pension for pensioners, which had been cancelled by the previous government, from January next year. Under the decision, pensioners aged above 70 years will receive an additional 10%, while those above 75 years will get an additional 15%.
Naidu directed officials to streamline the Employees’ Health Scheme (EHS), and make monthly payments to the NTR Vaidya Seva Trust from next month onwards.
Employee leaders thank CM for positive stand on their concerns
The decisions taken for employees will entail an additional annual expenditure of Rs 2,880 crore to the government exchequer.
Speaking on the occasion, Naidu said despite the financial difficulties, the government has been paying salaries to employees regularly on the first of every month for the last two years, and disbursing pensions to retired employees. In addition, it has extended the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) to 11,000 CPS employees, and so far cleared Rs 30,849 crore pending bills related to employees. By holding discussions with financial institutions, the government got loans worth Rs 1.50 lakh crore rescheduled, which reduced the interest burden. At present, the government is paying an average interest rate of 9.1% on its borrowings, and gradually bringing the systems back on track, he explained.
“The previous regime introduced a reverse PRC. Employees should not forget those circumstances. The previous government also kept the benefits due to retired employees pending. At that time, employees and employee association leaders were forced to communicate only through intermediaries,” Naidu said. The Chief Minister made it clear that the NDA government is giving highest priority to resolve the issues of retired employees.
The leaders of employee associations who attended the meeting, welcomed the announcements made by the Chief Minister. They expressed their gratitude to Naidu for taking a positive stand on their concerns. They thanked the government for restoring the Additional Quantum of Pension. They also expressed gratitude to the government for increasing the retirement age of employees in public sector organisations.
The leaders said they understood the financial difficulties faced by the State, and assured the government of their full cooperation in the development of Andhra Pradesh.
Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav and Revenue Minister Anagani Satya Prasad and senior officials attended.
