Maharashtra cabinet meeting in Mumbai rewards employees with pre-poll pay hikes

The Maharashtra government has announced significant salary hikes and incentives for state employees, including police kotwals and home guards. The move, aimed at providing financial relief, comes ahead of the upcoming assembly elections scheduled for November.

Maharashtra’s cabinet announces new pay hikes for state government employees.
(Image: PTI)

Mumbai: In a move that could impact thousands of Maharashtra state employees ahead of the upcoming assembly elections, the state government announced sweeping salary hikes and new incentives on Monday. The decision, which extends to both regular and contractual staff like police kotwals and home guards, is set to bring financial relief to many as the elections loom in November.

During a cabinet meeting, officials approved a 10 per cent increase in the honorarium for police kotwals, benefiting a key group of security personnel. Gram rozgar sevaks, responsible for rural employment schemes, will also see their honorarium increase to Rs 8,000, with additional incentive subsidies tied to their workdays.

Other significant decisions on pay hike

One of the most significant changes is the increase in the gratuity limit for retiring state government employees. The cap has been raised from Rs 14 lakh to Rs 20 lakh, with similar increases in ex gratia payments in cases of employee deaths.

Home guards:

Home guards, a force of nearly 40,000, are set to benefit from a substantial boost in their daily duty allowance. Their pay will nearly double from Rs 570 to Rs 1,083 per day. Additionally, they will receive new allowances, including Rs 200 as dearness allowance, Rs 180 for exercise, Rs 100 as pocket allowance, and Rs 250 for food. The state has earmarked Rs 795 crore for these provisions.

Education sector:

In the education sector, the government has greenlit the creation of 4,860 new teaching positions. Furthermore, a compassionate employment policy was introduced for the families of police kotwals. This policy, aimed at supporting 12,793 kotwals, will offer employment opportunities to family members in cases of death, serious illness, or injury.

Gram rozgar sevaks:

Gram rozgar sevaks, depending on the number of days worked, will be eligible for additional incentives. Workers with more than 2,000 days of service will receive 1 per cent of the labor cost as an incentive, along with travel allowances ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000.

What is poised to change?

The revised gratuity limit for retirees and their families will come into effect this September, benefiting pensioners from educational institutions and universities with pension schemes.

Another decision aimed at providing job security involves removing the mandatory one-day technical break for temporary or contractual employees, which was previously required every 11 months. While this ensures uninterrupted service and retirement benefits, these employees will not be eligible for the in-service assured promotion scheme.

Lastly, the cabinet extended a one-time pension option to 10,693 zilla parishad employees, further expanding the benefits to a wider pool of government workers.

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