JOIN USKarnataka CM warns salary cut for govt employees; hints at lockdown extension
Government employees may have to face salary cuts next month, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa warned on Monday, as the coronavirus-driven lockdown has worsened the state’s precarious financial condition.
“Our financial position isn’t alright. Still, for the sake of our employees, I decided that they should get their salary for the month of April. Depending on how the coronavirus will be controlled, we will have to discuss how much we can pay and how much we should cut in the next month’s salary,” Yediyurappa said in an interview to a Kannada news channel.
Karnataka has more than five lakh government employees. It is estimated that the government will need Rs 33,000 crore to pay salaries in the 2020-21 fiscal, which along with other committed expenditure, makes up nearly 90 per cent of the state’s revenue receipts.
Plus, Karnataka is set to lose its share of central taxes under the 15th Finance Commission.
“And it’s not just ours. The financial position of all states and even the Centre is not good,” the CM said. “Everything has been cut. Our revenues have gone down. Development works have come to a standstill. We’re just sitting with our hands tied not knowing what to do. We hope the situation returns to normalcy by April 14 so we can start economic activities,” he said.
According to Yediyurappa, districts in the state where there are no COVID-19 positive cases can be given some relaxation from the lockdown after April 14. But everything depends on what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has in mind, he added.
“The way things are now, I don’t think the lockdown will end on April 14. It’ll end only when people fully cooperate and don’t come out of their homes. If it continues, people will be responsible for it themselves,” he said.
The CM lamented that the lockdown enforcement in the state was under 75 per cent. “What’s the need for people to come out to buy vegetables every day despite making all essential goods available? We have seized 10,000 two-wheelers hoping the situation will come under control. The police have been given a free hand to enforce the lockdown,” he said.