North-East byelections: Key contests in Meghalaya, Assam as Sikkim’s SKM secures uncontested seats
The North East is gearing up for byelections on Wednesday, with eight seats in focus across Assam, Meghalaya, and Sikkim.
Meghalaya Government announced that it would defer the payment of salaries for April – ranging from 25 to 50 per cent of Cabinet ministers and across different categories of government employees, according to a report in the Assam Tribune.
Officials said the decision has been taken as the government is facing a fund crunch due to the closed economy in the country owing to the ongoing lockdown. There has been devolution of taxes by Rs 76 crore from the Central government in the current month.
The decision is to defer the salaries and once the fiscal condition improves, the deduction “would be paid back”. As per a government order, the Chief Minister and all his Cabinet colleagues will receive 50 per cent less salaries (gross salaries) for April.
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Similarly, for All India Service officers, the gross salaries will be deferred by 50 per cent. Officers in categories A and B will receive 35 per cent deferred gross salary, while category C employees will have a deferment of 25 per cent in gross salary.
Salaries of category D employees will, however, remain unchanged. The deferment will also apply to employees in institutions receiving grants-in-aid from the state government. However, Group C employees in the Municipal Board will not face any deferment.
There will, however, be no deferment in payment of pensions. The notification said that the decision was taken as there is uncertainty due to the pandemic and it is not clear whether the Central government would release the State’s share of tax.
“The tax devolution from Government of India for April 2020 was Rs 76 crore less than the budget estimates. There is every likelihood that the size of the devolution in the coming months could be reduced,” the notification said.
It stated that there was a need for the state to manage its finances more carefully and keep adequate funds for dealing with any health or relief-related emergency.
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