SHILLONG: The state, which is already reeling from financial crisis, will have another burden as deficit school and college teachers await the benefits of the Fifth Pay Commission.
An official source said the state Cabinet will discuss the extension of the Fifth Pay Commission benefits to the deficit school and college teachers.
In the past, the government had followed the convention of extending the benefits to deficit teachers.
According to government calculation, the expenditure involved in extending the Fifth Pay Commission benefits would be around Rs 250 crore annually – Rs 170 crore for school teachers and Rs 80 crore for college teachers.
Former chief minister Mukul Sangma had made an assurance in the Assembly last December to extend the new pay benefits to the teachers employed under the deficit pattern.
The government had already released the pay and other allowances of the state government employees, besides some portion of the arrears from December last.
The financial involvement for the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission, including arrears for the government employees, teachers and pensioners would be over Rs 1,000 crore. Sources said since the NGT ban on coal mining had affected the state’s revenue generation, the government will have to find out other income generating measures to tide over the crisis following the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations.
