Editorial Desk
The coronavirus has also locked down and shutdown of the country’s economy. The government has to realise and act fast about the implication when it asked the people to stay at home to save their lives.
Such steps, though imperative, but the need for vast preparations and mobilisation of resources by the government for financial cost should have been known and efficiently made. No such mobilisation and preparations are seen in public eyes.
We know the economy is on the edge. But we have to be wrong if we have to believe in huge economic success brought by the government’s politics of development. Money was not a problem for the government’s pet projects.
Except the lucky favourite ones of the government every sector of the public life is in dire need of money and those who have not died of corona they must not die of hunger.
Money we must have for their survival. We also want back the public money plundered in thousands of crores.
As a result of this devastating pandemic all sections of people are in financial hardship, not only the poor. Lakhs of people have been locked out of jobs. The businesses were shutdown, so there was no income for businessmen.
In order to save the misery of people, Indian Cabinet on Monday took a praiseworthy decision to sacrifice 30 per cent salaries of parliamentarians, ministers and high public officials to contribute to the funds created for the victims of the calamity.
The Indian Cabinet also decided to suspend the MP Local Area Development Scheme for two years and transfer the money into the government’s consolidated fund.
The money under MPLADS is around Rs 7,900 crore for two years: 2020-21 and 2021-22.
In our country, the ministers and MPs enjoyed generous pay increases. Contribution of 30 percent from their salaries will mean nothing. On top of the salaries, corruption was free for those who were too greedy. Corruption was unwritten but most lucrative task for them.
On the other hand, various Indian state governments have already decided on salary cuts and other measures in the fight against coronavirus. Kerala government on Wednesday decided to cut a month’s salary of all its staffers to raise money for the state disaster relief fund.
Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan have also announced a cut in salaries of its government employees depending on their ranks. Maharashtra, which is bearing the brunt of the coronavirus crisis with nearly 800 cases, has decided to pay out the salaries in instalments.
We need to implement something like this to create funds. The current national pay-scale was announced in December 2015. It was also announced then that the salaries of public servants would be increased proportionately with the inflation rate, abolishing the pay-scale.
In the current pay-scale, the government has raised the salaries in the range of 91 to 101 per cent, which has been implemented in phases. The public sector employees got the increase in basic pay from July 2015 and other facilities were given from July 2016 raising pay and allowances of public servants.
It is time to allow the people to see government’s miraculous economic success and be generous with the people as they were to please government officials everywhere.
Our fear is the people will be forced out onto streets if the government fails to understand the depth of the multiple crises.
The coronavirus has also locked down and shutdown of the country’s economy. The government has to realise and act fast about the implication when it asked the people to stay at home to save their lives.
Such steps, though imperative, but the need for vast preparations and mobilisation of resources by the government for financial cost should have been known and efficiently made. No such mobilisation and preparations are seen in public eyes.
We know the economy is on the edge. But we have to be wrong if we have to believe in huge economic success brought by the government’s politics of development. Money was not a problem for the government’s pet projects.
Except the lucky favourite ones of the government every sector of the public life is in dire need of money and those who have not died of corona they must not die of hunger.
Money we must have for their survival. We also want back the public money plundered in thousands of crores.
As a result of this devastating pandemic all sections of people are in financial hardship, not only the poor. Lakhs of people have been locked out of jobs. The businesses were shutdown, so there was no income for businessmen.
In order to save the misery of people, Indian Cabinet on Monday took a praiseworthy decision to sacrifice 30 per cent salaries of parliamentarians, ministers and high public officials to contribute to the funds created for the victims of the calamity.
The Indian Cabinet also decided to suspend the MP Local Area Development Scheme for two years and transfer the money into the government’s consolidated fund.
The money under MPLADS is around Rs 7,900 crore for two years: 2020-21 and 2021-22.
In our country, the ministers and MPs enjoyed generous pay increases. Contribution of 30 percent from their salaries will mean nothing. On top of the salaries, corruption was free for those who were too greedy. Corruption was unwritten but most lucrative task for them.
On the other hand, various Indian state governments have already decided on salary cuts and other measures in the fight against coronavirus. Kerala government on Wednesday decided to cut a month’s salary of all its staffers to raise money for the state disaster relief fund.
Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan have also announced a cut in salaries of its government employees depending on their ranks. Maharashtra, which is bearing the brunt of the coronavirus crisis with nearly 800 cases, has decided to pay out the salaries in instalments.
We need to implement something like this to create funds. The current national pay-scale was announced in December 2015. It was also announced then that the salaries of public servants would be increased proportionately with the inflation rate, abolishing the pay-scale.
In the current pay-scale, the government has raised the salaries in the range of 91 to 101 per cent, which has been implemented in phases. The public sector employees got the increase in basic pay from July 2015 and other facilities were given from July 2016 raising pay and allowances of public servants.
It is time to allow the people to see government’s miraculous economic success and be generous with the people as they were to please government officials everywhere.
Our fear is the people will be forced out onto streets if the government fails to understand the depth of the multiple crises.
