THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A majority of state government employees have not received their salary. While the government blamed technical glitches for the delay, employees organisations affiliated with opposition parties alleged it was due to fund shortage.
Employees who did not receive their salary were those who had opted for auto transfer of the salary payment from the salary account with the treasury to their bank account. Those who directly withdrew their salary from their treasury account were not affected. Some employee organisation leaders said the auto transfer process was deliberately stopped by the government due to shortage of funds.
A source in the government said the “technical issue” would be resolved by Monday. Meanwhile, the government is taking efforts to mobilise funds for the routine expenditure, including salary payment. The monthly salary and pension payment are roughly Rs 3,300 crore and Rs 2,000 crore, respectively.
The finance secretary has asked PSUs , grant-in-aid institutions and other institutions coming under the state government to strictly deposit their profits and own funds in treasury only. In fact, it was a reminder of an earlier circular in this regard. It is learnt that several institutions made deposits in the first two days. This includes a Rs 500 crore deposit by the Beverages Corporation and Rs 100 crore deposit by the Government Secretariat Staff Cooperative Society.
The government is offering a higher flat interest rate, maximum of 8.5 pc, for a minimum six months deposits. It is offered for deposits above Rs 5 crore made between March 1 and 25, 2024 by PSUs and other institutions.
Action council stages stir at secretariat
The Secretariat Action Council staged a dharna in front of the state secretariat in protest against the delay in salary payment. Action Council convenor Ershad M S inaugurated the dharna. He said that the government’s claim on technical glitches was a lie. Others who addressed the dharna were Kerala Finance Secretariat Association president S Pradeep Kumar, Kerala Law Secretariat Association general secretary Mohanachandran M S, Kerala Legislature Secretariat Employees Organisation general secretary V A Binu and Kerala Secretariat Association treasurer K M Anil Kumar.