7th Pay Commission: Rs 23,000 crore windfall for govt employees, but there is a catch

7th Pay Commission good news is out for the state of Maharashtra, but the blame game is alive and kicking too, something that government servants from other states where 7th CPC report has been ordered implemented would be familiar with. The payout to government staff is going to rest heavy on the shoulders of state finances is what all the hullabaloo is about. Well, the chief minister Devendra Fadnavis led government in the Maharashtra assembly announced that it will implement the 7th CPC report from the current fiscal and give it retrospective effect from from 01/01/2016. Considering there are as many as 18 lakh government employees and pensioners involved, the payout over a certain period of time will be Rs 23,000 crore of which Rs 10,000 cr has been marked out in this budget itself.  

Government laid the blame of Rs 15,000 crore revenue deficit in the state budget for 2018-19 on the Rs 34,000-crore farm loan waiver announced last year. While presenting the budget in the Maharashtra Assembly, Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantwar said, "We are also preparing for (implementing) the 7th Pay Commission, which is estimated to put an additional burden on the treasury." He had something crucial to add. He said the K P Bakshi led, retired IAS officer, panel that is studying the impact of implementation of the Seventh Pay commission recommendations for government employees is set to submit its report in 4 months. He said, "The committee report is expected to be out in the next 4 months. Once it is out, we will discuss it and then go for its implementation."

After presenting his 4th budget, Mungantwar rushed to add, "We are way better off than many states in the country". The finance minister also poiinted out that an allocation of Rs 300 crore has been made for the giant Shivaji memorial taht is expected to be built in the Arabian Sea. He said, "New taxpayers are being added, which will eventually increase the revenue collection. There is a good investment for metros in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur."

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis summarised what the the budget was all about by saying, "It provides major support to Dalits, divyangs and adivasis. So many provisions have been made for these communities."

On the other hand, ex finance minister Jayant Patil said, "They have miserably failed in improving the state's financial health. There is no clear indication how the government is going to increase its revenue to reduce the deficit."

However, as far as the governemnt employees are concerned, they are happy with the announcement and are hoping that this blame game does not force the government to backtrack. Also, they would be wishing the Bakshi panel to quickly come out with its report on 7th Pay Commission recommendations.