Bengaluru, Jan 27: Come February, government employees in Karnataka are expected to receive a pre-poll bonanza from the Congress-led administration. The state government is likely to announce a 24-30% pay hike for its 6.2 lakh employees and pensioners in the budget, and introduce holidays on alternate Saturdays in government offices.
The decision is a bid to address demands for a five-day week and a pay scale on par with that for central government employees. Currently, state government employees have a six-day week with an additional off every second Saturday of the month. The government will now likely make the fourth Saturday a holiday too, in tune with the schedule for nationalised banks.
"To ensure this does not lead to a decrease in work hours, the government is toying with the idea of extending office hours on the first and third Saturdays," said a senior official of the state department of personnel and administrative services (DPAR).
Responding to demands from employee associations, chief minister Siddaramaiah had, in the last budget, announced a committee headed by retired IAS officer M R Srinivasa Murthy to recommend increase in salaries and pensions. "We are in the process of finalising the report... We will submit it soon since the CM fixed January 31 as the deadline," Murthy said.
While government employees are hoping the CM opts for a hike in the 30-35% slab, sources said the government may go for a 24-30% increase. The move is estimated to cost the exchequer Rs 10,800 crore. At the fag end of the tenure of Karnataka's previous administration, led by BJP, the then chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda had hiked pay by 22%. "We cannot afford to offer anything less than what BJP offered," said a senior state minister, an indication that the new hike would be higher.
The kidnapped schoolboy was rescued by the police and reunited with his parents. Son of a gift shop owner from Basavanagudi area in Bengaluru, Chirag has reportedly told police that decided to make some quick money to spend on cricket betting and gambling after learning kidnap tricks from the ‘Crime Patrol’. According to police, Chirag reached a private school around 3pm on Tuesday on a Bounce rental bike and zeroed in on a fourth standard student who was walking out of school. He told the boy he was his father's friend and that he required help to search for a relative who had gone missing. The boy believed Chirag and rode pillion on the bike. Chirag then engaged the boy in conversation and learnt about his father's business and got his mobile phone number. He then made a call to the boy's father, demanded Rs 5 lakh and warned him against approaching cops. However, the boy's father alerted Cottonpet police and special teams were formed to crack the case. While Cottonpet inspector Venkatesh TC's squad verified CCTV footage in and around the school, Chamarajpet inspector BG Kumaraswamy's team started tracking the suspect's mobile phone movements. An hour later, the suspect's location was traced to a hotel on the Lavelle Road-St Mark's Road stretch. Police rushed there, rescued the boy and arrested Chirag.
Comments
Fighting for survival-----WIthdrawing all criminal cases against muslims------now pay hike of government employees--------more freebies--------nothing from his pocket all government money----------freebies is nothing but bribe------they don''t have anything to show in terms of development -------compenesating for it
Blanket bribes to the bureaucracy that already is used to taking bribes for decades! Typical elitist Congress politics to retain their strangle hold by paying the least deserving with money looted from the most deserving.
Congress Governments are habitual offenders - when they know they are not coming back to power, they destroy the financial conditions so that the next government is unable to deliver. MODI & Vajpayee has to face the same in center, and all state governments that changed over to BJP from congress have to undergo the same torture.
Shameless siddu and media. These people blamed Jayalalitha while she was giving "pre-poll gifts"
Govt making them again and again laziest people. Now they are getting good salary+incentives. And for winning in poll, given again
Suppose, it was given by BJP govt then CD will report it as bribe. #StopDoubleStandard
This is not gift. This is bribe for electing him again. Shame on you Siddu
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