Himachal employees raise concern over delay in salary; CM Sukhu says 'no financial crisis'

Shimla, Sep 3 (PTI) While the employees of Himachal Pradesh are concerned about the delay in their salary, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday said there is no financial crisis and steps are afoot to bring financial discipline.

The employees and pensioners normally get their salary and pension respectively on the first of every month. However, they have not received them even two days after the due date.

The delay in payment of salary and pension is a cause of concern as the salaried employees have to meet their expenses, said office bearers of Federation of Secretarial Employees unions on Tuesday.

"In my 30-35 years of service, I have never seen such a condition. The employees are likely to get salaries on September 5 and pensioners would get pension on September 10," said federation president Sanjeev Sharma, adding that the pensioners who have limited money but considerable medical expenses are the worst hit.

"Normally, loan installments are deducted from the accounts of the employees and officers on second or third of every month. If the salaries are not deposited in the bank accounts, the banks will charge penalty.

"We are writing a letter to the secretary finance requesting him to ask the concerned banks to defer the installments of employees and not to charge penalty," he told the PTI.

The Federation's general secretary, Kamal Krishan Sharma, said the employees have to pay their bills and loan installments, and one of their employees had zero balance on Monday with no money to buy vegetables. They have to meet their expenses like buying ration, paying installments, loans, bills and school fees.

"Maybe the financial condition (of the state) is not good but we have not been given any information in this regard and troubles of the employees would increase with each day," said another employee Ramesh Sharma.

Talking to media persons, the chief minister said there is no financial crisis and steps are being taken to maintain financial discipline.

"We are taking steps for resource mobilisation to make the state self- reliant... We want to have discussion on financial mismanagement and tell the 75 lakh people of the state that how the double engine government (BJP) had plundered the state exchequer by giving free electricity and water and opening over 600 health and educational institutions," he said.

Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur had on Saturday said the state government has raised loans worth over Rs 24,000 crore during the past 20 months, while the previous BJP government had raised loans amounting Rs 19,600 crore during the five-year tenure. PTI