As part of his Budget proposal for 2009-10, Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Tuesday announced, amidst applause from treasury benches, that he has made a provision 10 for implementing Fifth Pay Commission recommendations that would put an additional burden of about Rs 3,000 crore on the state.
The finance minister went on to announce that the report would be implemented retrospectively from January 2006 as ?the government is fully conscious of the welfare of the employees who are a valuable human asset and they were working with dedication and devotion for implementing the policies and programmes of the state government?.
However, Badal?s speech did not mention the fact that the pay panel recommendations would be implemented from August 1, 2009 and all new pay scales will be effective from that date and the government would not release arrears to the employees. He said inspite of difficult fiscal situation, all government employees would start getting new pay scales from August 1. Even there was no word on payment of enhanced dearness allowance or other perks to employees with the salary of August as the Budget speech talks only of new pay scales from that date.
When asked, the state finance minister told FE that ?Punjab was in no position to clear arrears accrued to the employees from January 2006 to July 2009 as its fiscal health was pathetic?. He disclosed that finance ministers of different states had called on Union the finance minister before the Budget and pressed him to share at least 50% burden of pay commission recommendations.
He said it was ironic that every time Centre hikes wages of its employees, it becomes richer. Explaining the paradox he said when Centre announces a hike, states have to follow. Increased wages of state employees means more collection of Income Tax, which goes from states to the Centre. He said that all centrally sponsored schemes were biased against Punjab as for instance National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act for which allocation has been raised from Rs 16,000 crores to Rs 39,000 crores but such schemes benefit states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh only. Why can?t Centre allocate funds to states like Punjab in lieu of such schemes, he questioned.
There is another shock for government employees in Punjab who were expecting a raise in retirement age from 58 to 60 years as was promised in the election manifesto of ruling alliance. Badal said, ?Other recommendations of the Pay Commission were under active consideration of the government and the government was still undecided on increase in retirement age?.