Himachal Pradesh govt announces new pay scales for govt employees on lines of Punjab

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh government on Saturday announced new pay scales for the employees, which will become applicable from January 1, 2016.

The pay of January 2022 would be payable in February, 2022 as per revised pay scales, chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur declared at a meeting of the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) of the Himachal Pradesh Non-Gazetted Employees Federation here, first time after the BJP's return to power in 2017.

The Chief Minister said "the pensioners and family pensioners will also be given revised pension and other pensionary benefits from January 1, 2016. The Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief will be given on revised pay scales and revised pension/family pension."

The new pay scales and revised pension would put an additional burden of Rs 6000 crore annually on the state exchequer.

The state government is already in the debt burden of Rs 61000 crore but after the Punjab government having announced payment of the new pay scales already, Himachal Pradesh also entering the election year in 2022, could not have held back the revised pay scales.

Himachal Pradesh employees are linked to Punjab for the purposes of pay scales and pensions as the state earlier was part of the joint Punjab state.

Thakur also announced implementation of New Pension System (Invalid Pension and Family Pension) from May 15, 2003 according to Office Memorandum dated May 5, 2009 of the Central government to the employees of the state government.

He said that this would put an additional burden of about Rs 250 crore on the state exchequer.