Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India] September 5 (ANI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today approved for  constitution of  12th Pay Revision Commission (PRC) and agreed to release two of  pending dearness allowances.

He also gave  green signal to several other important pending issues concerning employees and pensioners, said a release. 

The Chief Minister held a meeting with the leaders of employee associations representing the Joint Staff Council at his camp office on Saturday.

The Chief Minister explained the financial difficulties currently being faced by the state and placed the state's revenue and expenditure figures before the employees representatives. 

He said, 'Despite the financial challenges, the government  committed to address employees' issues and announced several key decisions.'

The Chief Minister approved the appointment of the 12th PRC and agreed to release the DAs due from July 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025. These two DAs will be paid with effect from October 1, 2026, the release stated.

He also agreed to credit the surrender leave dues pertaining to 2022 to employees' accounts by the coming Sankranti. The Chief Minister expressed willingness to provide one additional surrender leave to police personnel during the coming Dasara festival.

The government has also decided to restore the Additional Quantum of Pension for pensioners, which had been cancelled by the previous government, from January next year. Under the decision, pensioners aged above 70 years will receive an additional 10 per cent, while those above 75 years will receive an additional 15 per cent.The Chief Minister directed officials to streamline the Employees' Health Scheme (EHS) and make monthly payments to the NTR Vaidya Seva Trust from next month onwards.The decisions taken for employees will entail an additional annual expenditure of Rs. 2,880 crore to the government.

Speaking on the occasion, CM Naidu said,'Despite of the financial difficulties, the government paying salaries regularly on the first of every month for the last two years and disbursing pensions to retired employees. In addition extended the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) to 11,000 CPS employees and so far cleared Rs. 30,849 crore in pending bills related to employees.'

He said the previous government borrowed indiscriminately at high interest rates and by holding discussions with financial institutions,  reschedule loans worth around Rs. 1.50 lakh crore and substantially reduce the interest burden. At present, the government is paying an average interest rate of 9.1 per cent on its borrowings and gradually bringing the systems  back on track. The previous rulers  introduced a reverse PRC. Employees should not forget those circumstances."The previous government also kept the benefits due to retired employees pending. They humiliated employees by distributing pamphlets through volunteers, putting up hoardings and issuing advertisements in newspapers. At that time, employees and employee association representatives were forced to communicate only through intermediaries,' he said.

The Chief Minister  made it clear that the coalition government giving highest priority to resolve the issues of retired employees so that they do not face difficulties.  Knowing that it would create financial difficulties,  provided 43 per cent fitment. 

The leaders of employee associations, who attended the meeting welcomed the announcements made by CM Naidu to resolve their long-pending issues and demands, expressed their gratitude to the Chief Minister for taking a positive stand on their concerns.

They recalled that during the previous government, employees were subjected to  difficulties. They thanked the government for restoring the Additional Quantum of Pension, which had benefited retired employees but was cancelled by the previous government. They also expressed gratitude to the government for increasing the retirement age of employees in public sector organisations.The employee representatives said they understood the financial difficulties faced by the State and assured the government of their full cooperation in the development of Andhra Pradesh and in implementing the government's programmes. (ANI)