Karnataka Pay Commission: Siddaramaiah offers Holi gift to 5.20 lakh state government employees

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah (Siddaramayya) on Thursday reportedly accepted all the recommendations of the Pay Commission headed by retired IAS officer MR Sreenivasa Murthy.

The government employees in the state have been fighting for a hike in the salary for the past few years. Owing to their demands, Siddaramaiah had announced in the Budget Speech 2017-18 that his government would constitute a pay commission to examine their request. Accordingly, he had formed a committee of four members on June 1, 2017.

This Pay Commission examined the present pay structure of employees of state government, aided educational institutions, local bodies and non-teaching staff of the Universities for over six months to recommend the new pay structure. Sreenivasa Murthy's team submitted the report of its recommendations to the government on January 31.

The Pay Commission recommended 30 percent hike in the salary of 5.20 lakh state government employees and 5.73 lakh pensioners and their families. After the implantation of the recommendations, the minimum salary will be Rs 17,000 and maximum salary will be Rs 1,50,600 and other allowances. Pensioners will get a minimum of Rs 8,500 and maximum of Rs 75,300 along with dearness allowances.

In his budget speech of 2018-19, Siddaramaiah, who also holds the finance ministry, accepted the recommendations of the Pay Commission. The Chief Minister also announced that the new pay scale would be made effective from April 1, 2017.

The latest we hear is that the recommendations of the commission have been approved by cabinet members. The CM reportedly said on Thursday that his government is committed to implement the recommendations, which will bring a burden of Rs 10,508 crore on the government. His announcement has come as a Holi gift for the state government employees.