UP decides to advance payment of pensions worth more than Rs 871 crore amid Covid fight

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be starting the distribution of pensions worth more than Rs 871 crore under pension scheme offered by the government. CM Adityanath had recently held a meeting with multiple pensioners as well.

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UP government to start pension payment 

CM Adityanath will be transferring the advanced pensions to more than 86 lakh beneficiaries across the state and the move comes after the state government provided a financial aid of Rs 611 crore to MNREGA workers in the aftermath of the outbreak of coronavirus. 

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UP government has also announced that salaries of its employees will neither be deferred nor cut amid the coronavirus lockdown and its impact on revenues. Additional Chief Secretary Awanish Awasthi quoted CM Adityanath and stated that the condition of the state’s economy is strong and it would deal with the challenge posed by the pandemic, without pay cut of employees. There would be no cut or deferment in the salaries of state government employees, he said. 

READ: Yogi Adityanath Announces No Salary Cut For UP Govt Employees Amid Coronavirus Lockdown

The chief minister is of the view that when he has asked private agencies to pay full salary to their employees in this hour of crisis, it is the responsibility of the state government to pay its employees as well, Awasthi pointed out. Several states including Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Telangana have announced deferment of payment of full salaries to the chief minister, officers, and employees, saying their revenue streams have dried up due to the ongoing lockdown to combat coronavirus.

Earlier this week, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu requested CM Yogi Adityanath to waive off 6 months’ electricity bill of farmers, traders, small shopkeepers and the common person in the wake of the novel Coronavirus crisis. Maintaining that the entire state is in a big crisis arising out of the COVID-19, he alleged that the farmers were already in a dire financial condition due to the unseasonal rain. He demanded the state government to provide compensation to the farmers as promised by Yogi Adityanath.   

READ: UP Cong Asks Yogi Adityanath To Waive Off 6 Months' Electricity Bill Of Farmers & Others