Government staff want salary in cash

 

The Lok Sabha Secretariat and Rajya Sabha Secretariat staff salaries are pending and concerned authorities have asked the State Bank of India’s (SBI) Parliament Annexe branch to make available ₹5 crore by tomorrow, so that they can pay advance salaries in cash to their staff, says a report in the Indian Express.

 

 

SBI branch manager, Sudhir Malhotra, has been quoted by the newspaper as saying, “We received requests from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha offices on Friday, to arrange ₹5 crore in cash by Monday (November 21) so that they can give ₹10,000 as advance salary to their staffers… I have sent the requisition to my senior authority and also sought RBI’s guidance, as there are standard norms about paying ₹24,000 to a savings bank account holder and ₹50,000 to a current account holder.”

 

 

It so happens that the Department of Personnel and Training had issued a circular stating that salary advance should be paid to non-gazetted employees for November. Central government employees up to Group 'C' can draw salary advance up to ₹10,000 in cash that'll be adjusted against their November salaries.

 

 

A spokesperson for the Lok Sabha Secretariat, however, has clarified that it will not be much of a hassle as the number of employees that come under this circular are few and the amount will be less than an estimated ₹1.80 crore. He also said that the move would reduce the rush at ATMs and banks.

 

 

Similarly, Goa government employees had demanded that their salary for the current month be paid in cash rather than be deposited in bank accounts, considering the difficulties faced to withdraw money.

 

 

 At first glance, it shows how concerned the government is about the financial inconvenience to its staff but taking into effect how the whole country has been running from pillar to post hunting and literally struggling to make ends meet, this order ought to rile some feathers.

 

 

The Goa government employees had justified their demand by saying that time would be spent waiting in line for withdrawals and so absence of government employees would cause chaos among the public. Well, the question then arises - what about other workers in the country employed by the various businesses and those in the private sectors? 

 

 

The common man has been caught off guard with this sudden decision of demonetisation by the Modi-led government. Work is also being affected as people have to line up to get money and offices are not declaring holidays or leaves for the same. So why should the common man suffer while government employees get the benefit of their position? The government, has from November 9, been issuing various orders as to how to go about things, but the ground reality that many banks, petrol pumps, hospitals and other government offices are yet to receive any orders from their respective offices to implement these orders and again inconveniencing the public.

 

 

Money is a requisite whether one has plastic money or not. A lot of the utility bills, sudden expenses that crop up, etc. cost below ₹100 and if one ends up spending change like this and there is no surety of when money will next arrive in the banks then there is a lot of explaining that the government needs to do.