Congress govt prioritises employee welfare: Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka

Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka has said that the Congress government is committed to clearing pending dues inherited from the previous regime while ensuring the welfare of employees and the general public.

Referring to a white paper presented in the Assembly, he said that by December 2023, the previous government had left unpaid bills worth ₹40,154 crore. These included dues related to employees, pensioners and various government departments. Of this, employee-related bills alone accounted for ₹4,575 crore, highlighting the serious impact on staff and pensioners.

Despite financial constraints, the government has adopted a clear, phased plan to clear arrears, the Deputy Chief Minister said. As part of pensioner benefits, ₹1,752 crore has already been paid, while the remaining pension dues stand at ₹6,244 crore. To ensure regular payments, the government is releasing around ₹700 crore every month towards pension liabilities, with the aim of protecting pensioners’ rights and avoiding any inconvenience to them.

He also stressed that employee salaries are being paid without delay on the first day of every month, and systems are being strengthened to ensure that salary payments never remain pending.

Highlighting the government’s broader welfare initiatives, Bhatti Vikramarka said the Gruha Jyothi scheme, which provides free electricity up to 200 units, is benefiting around 52 lakh families every month under the jurisdiction of SPDCL and NPDCL. In addition, the Rajiv Aarogyasri scheme now offers health insurance coverage of up to ₹10 lakh for every family in the state.

The Deputy Chief Minister further announced that the government is giving special attention to employee health security and will soon introduce a dedicated health scheme for government employees. He said medical bills worth ₹200 crore have already been cleared and assured employees that they need not worry about delays in medical reimbursements in the future.

Concluding his remarks, Bhatti Vikramarka said the state government is taking all necessary steps to ensure that salaries, pensions and medical bills of employees are paid on time, without any backlog, reflecting its strong commitment to employee welfare.