West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, on Friday has said that the Government will accept the recommendations of the sixth pay commission. She said that the commission will be implemented from January 1, 2020. She blamed the past government for the delay in its implementation.

While addressing the delay in the implementation of the sixth pay at a meeting of TMC’s West Bengal State Government employees federation, the Chief Minister said that “I have received the pay commission report. We will accept the recommendations of the commission and sympathetically consider it.”

Increase in salaries of Government employees

The Centre has already implemented the commission. The implementation of the Pay Commission recommendations will cost the state exchequer about Rs.10,000 crore annually. The recommendations include an increase in the basic pay scale of state employees and increase of gratuity from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. The Commission was formed on November 27, 2015, to restructure the salaries of Government employees and was headed by Professor Abhirup Sarkar.

The Commission was scheduled to submit the reports within six months. However, due to periodic extensions, it got delayed for months and finally came in on May 28, 2019.

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CM gives assurance to Government employees

The Chief Minister also said that “The state government employees are demanding to make up the shortfall of dearness allowance. But it should be kept in mind that only the West Bengal government has a guaranteed pension scheme. The pension scheme of the central government is not guaranteed."

She also assured the Government employees of support and said, "Few people during Lok Sabha elections have misguided you but all of you (state government employees) can trust me. I won't disappoint you."

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Mamata Banerjee attacks BJP

The Chief Minister also attacked the Left trade unions and state government employees unions. "The Left Front had taken huge debt and we are paying Rs. 55,000 crore every year for it. It is due to its fiscal mismanagement that we are facing so much problems," she said. The TMC leader also attacked the BJP Government and said that they are trying to disinvest and privatize all PSUs in the country. 

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(With inputs from PTI)