Last Updated on March 15, 2021 at 6:01 pm
More than 30,000 government employees are expected to witness a salary crisis in the next financial year. These employees include engineers who are posted on a deputation basis in Jammu as well as in Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (JPDCL and KPDCL).
Sources have informed that rather than keeping separate budgetary provisions for providing salaries of employees, the government has finalised to provide grant-in-aid to corporations for the next financial year. They said that the employee/official union members of both the corporations were demanding regular budgetary provisions for paying salaries of the employees and officials who are posted in these corporations.
An official working in the department said that while new corporations were being created, employees and officials of the Power Development Department (PDD) were sent on deputation. They have been demanding that same arrangement should be worked out between the PDD and government, according to which regular budgetary provisions had been granted to the department in the annual budget. He also said that because of regular budgetary provisions, there were no hurdles in way of regular disbursal of salaries.
As corporations were created, the government introduced grant-in-aid provision because of which the salaries had been delayed for the last two years. An official said that they have been demanding regular budgetary provisions to pay salaries of the employees in their continuous discussions with the administrative departments. However, the government has declined the proposal of regular budgetary provisions for the salaries and decided to continue with grant-in-aid.
An official of the Finance Department said that as per the grant-in-aid agreement, the funds were sanctioned in instalments. Officials said that the department is required to forward the Utilization Certificates (UCs) to the Finance Department once an instalment gets sanctioned. After getting clearance from the Finance Department, the next instalment is released. This same process has to be followed for releasing every instalment. There was also a delay in release of the salaries because of administration issues.
An official who works in the corporation said that since new corporations were created, the employees and officials are getting regular monthly salaries. Even salary of February is pending because there are no regular budgetary provisions.
