THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ahead of Onam, the government has revised the bonus and festival allowances of employees and pensioners. The minimum salary limit for getting bonus has been enhanced to Rs 24,000 from Rs 22,000 for employees drawing salaries as per the new scale. For those with salaries under the old scale, the eligibility slab has been increased to Rs 23,000 from 21,000. For both scales, the bonus has been revised to Rs 4,000 from 3,500.
The festival allowance for those who are not eligible for bonus has been enhanced to Rs 2,750 from Rs 2,400. Pensioners in all categories will get a special festival allowance of Rs 1,000. The festival allowance of employees with various societies and other government-controlled institutions who were given allowance between Rs 1,000 and 1,200 last year, will be given an additional Rs 100 this year. Ex-gratia family pensioners who were not given festival allowance till now, will get Rs 1,000 as allowance.
Freedom fighters pension
The Cabinet on Wednesday decided to enhance the Kerala freedom fighters’s pension and other related pensions to Rs 11,000 from 10,800.
Other decisions
Appointments to the State Electricity Regulatory Commission to be brought under the PSC. The Cabinet decided to bring in a legislation in this regard and issued its nod for the draft bill.
Various categories of cycling competition - track, road and mountain bike - to be included among the sports items for which additional points would be granted in PSC tests for class 3 and class 4 employees.
A permanent post of finance officer - not less than the rank of an under secretary - to be created at the State Project Directorate of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan
No going back on Athirappilly project: M M Mani
T’Puram: Making it clear the government was not going back on the Athirappilly hydel project, Power Minister M M Mani told the Assembly preliminary works have been initiated for implementing the project. In a written reply, he said the procedures for using the land for non-forestry purposes have been completed as per the Forest Conservation Act.
The government has once again reiterated its stand even as the CPI, the Congress and environmentalists have been opposing it from the very beginning. Despite bagging green clearance, the KSEB has never been able to begin work on the project owing to protests. The KSEB has never dropped the project from its wish list. In its Plan outlay for 2017-18, the power utility has earmarked Rs 50 lakh for it.