DW BUREAU / Shimla

Himachal Pradesh government employees, who experienced a five day delay in their salaries in September, will receive their pay on October 1, a state government spokesperson here said on Saturday.

In a statement issued here, he informed that following a review of the state treasury's cash flow by the Finance department, it has been decided that the salaries for September will be disbursed on October 1 while pensions will be paid on October 9.

He noted that salaries for August were released on September 5 and pensions on September 10, reflecting the government's commitment to utilizing financial resources judiciously.

The present state government was actively working to minimize the gap between receipts and expenditures to ensure timely borrowing, thereby reducing the interest burden on state loans, he added.

Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu had informed the Vidhan Sabha on September 4 that the state requires Rs 2,000 crore monthly to cover the payment of Rs 1,200 crore in salaries and Rs 800 crore in pensions.

The CM had said that the Revenue Deficit Grand (RDG) of Rs 520 crore and the state's share in central taxes, amounting to Rs 740 crore, are received on the sixth and tenth of every month, necessitating the raising of loans.

Sukhu had also said that borrowing from the market at 7.5 per cent interest to meet salary payments on the first day of each month could be deferred to save about Rs 3 crore every month, amounting to Rs 36 crore annually in interest payments.

The decision to release the salaries for September was made after reviewing the state's financial situation, with consideration for employees who have Equated Monthly Installments (EMI) scheduled for the first of the month, the CM had said.
(editor@dailyworld.in)