Staff arrears will be cleared by the Odisha government

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has ordered that the state government’s outstanding 20 percent arrears under the Seventh Pay Commission be cleared. Employees will now get the amount due along with their March 2022 wages.

Previously, the unpaid amount according to the Seventh Pay Commission slab was cleared to the tune of 80%. The remaining 20%, which was owing to the almost four lakh government employees in Odisha, will now be cleared as well. A total of Rs 850 crore has been set aside in the supplementary budget for 2021-22 to help cover this cost.

Odisha’s government began implementing the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission in January 2016. As a result, starting in September 2017, employees began earning raises in their pay. It was determined that the employees would be paid a 20-month rise in arrears in instalments from January 2014 to August 2018.

According to the arrangement made at the time, 40% of the increased pay was paid in 2016-17, 10% in 2019-20, and 30% in 2021-22. Pensioners have also been paid in full. The state government increased dearness allowance (DA) by 3% in December 2021, benefiting about 7.5 lakh employees and pensioners. Junior teachers’ pay in Odisha government elementary schools were also increased by 50% in January of this year.