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Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Sunday assured government employees of appointing a pay revision commission (PRC) and extending interim relief before implementing the revised pay scales.
In his marathon reply to a short discussion on ‘Telangana state formation – Progress achieved in the state’, the Chief Minister claimed that state government employees were the highest paid in the country, more than even those with the Centre. The BRS government enhanced employees’ salaries by 70 per cent in the last nine years, he said.
"I made a promise to state employees during the Telangana agitation that they would get the highest salaries in the new state. I fulfilled the promise," he pointed out.
The Chief Minister said he would always be keen on sharing the fruits of the improved state economy among different sections, including employees, who, he said, would get an "unbelievable" hike under the next PRC.
Singareni Collieries employees, who used to share an annual bonus of Rs 83 crore before bifurcation, would get Rs 1,000 crore this October, he said, adding that both the turnover and profit of the state-run coal company had increased manifold during the tenure of the BRS government.
Defending his decision to absorb RTC employees into government service, Rao took potshots at Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and the Opposition for the brief impasse over placing the draft legislation in the House. "Wisdom has finally dawned on the Governor," he said, thanking her for approving the Bill and facilitating its introduction on the last day of the session.
In an apparent reply to the criticism that he had gone back on his own words on the RTC merger with the government, the Chief Minister said he wanted to attempt to improve the financial condition of the corporation. Due to the skyrocketing diesel prices, the condition of the corporation deteriorated further.
"Public transport is a social obligation to any government and we are committed to continue it," he said.
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