With an eye on the 2022 assembly elections and keeping in mind the recent drubbing in bypolls, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur announced new pay scales for the employees of the State Government with effect from 1 January, 2016.

The pay of January, 2022 would be payable in February, 2022 as per revised pay scales, he said while addressing the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) of the HP Non-Gazetted Employees Federation in Shimla on Saturday.

Thakur said all the pensioners and family pensioners would also be given revised pension and other pension benefits from 1 January, 2016.

The Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief would be given on revised pay scales and revised pension/family pension.

These new pay scales and revised pension would put an additional burden of Rs 6000 crore annually on the State exchequer, he added.

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

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

He announced a reduction in the period of contractual employees of the state government for their regularization from three years to two years.

In addition, one year would also be reduced for regularization/daily wages conversion in respect of daily wage employees, part-time workers, water guards, and water carriers, etc.

He announced the release of additional Rs 10 crore for clearance of pending medical reimbursement bills.

“A committee would be constituted for appointment on compassionate grounds under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary.

The Committee would give its presentation in the next Cabinet meeting and the government would also consider providing tribal allowance to daily wage and contract employees serving in the tribal areas of the state,” The CM said.

He further stated that NPS employees would now have freedom to choose any Pension Fund for investment for ensuring better returns and till now, these employees have to invest in only those Pension Funds selected by the government.

All the NPS employees were being provided Death-cum-Retirement Gratuity benefits and now, the government has decided to provide Gratuity to NPS employees deprived of this benefit from 15th May 2003 to 22nd September 2017.

“The employees have been playing a major role in the development of the state as it is due to the hard work, dedication, and commitment of the employees that Himachal today has emerged as a role model for other states of the country.

Our state is also the first state in the country in terms of population-employee ratio. The state government is spending about 43 percent of its total budget on employees and pensioners which would increase up to 50 percent after the implementation of the 6th pay Commission,” he added.