SHILLONG, Aug 2 - The Fifth Meghalaya State Pay Commission submitted its report to Chief Minister Mukul Sangma at the State Secretariat here today.
The Commission is headed by former Chief Secretary PJ Bazeley. The Commission also includes former bureaucrat Lambha Roy and Uttam Sangma as the other two members. The members visited other States in the country to make a comparative study.
The Commission has held several rounds of discussions with various stakeholders in the State that included officials from various departments, employees� organisations and individuals. The district heads were also consulted, official sources informed.
There are close to a lakh Government employees in the State. Besides, there are over 20,000 pensioners. The State exchequer incurs about Rs 400 crore on the salaries of the employees, which is about 80 per cent of the State�s plan (now defunct) budget.
In the last pay hike, the State Government approved a hike of 32 per cent. However, sources said, the present hike would not match the January 2007 hike of 32 per cent and may hover somewhere around 25 per cent mark. The Seventh Central Pay Commission has recommended a 23 per cent hike in salaries for Central Government employees.
A hike of about 25 per cent, according to the official, would cost the exchequer an additional recurring burden of about Rs.100 crore annually.
Guv�s convoy: Meghalaya and Assam Governor Banwarilal Purohit�s convoy was hit by a speeding Mahindra pick up van this afternoon near Mawiong, in which five of the Governor�s security personnel were injured.
The accident happened when Purohit and his convoy were travelling from Guwahati to Shillong. On reaching Mawiong, before reaching the State capital, one of the escort vehicles of the Governor was hit by a speeding Mahindra pick up van.
The injured security personnel have been identified as Gopal Gurung, Ranjit, A Sawian, A Rai and M Mohdok. The driver of the pick up truck was arrested. The injured security personnel have been admitted to Shillong Civil Hospital.
PTI adds: The collission took place when the pick-up truck was trying to evade an MVI checking at Mawiong, police said. No harm was done to the official vehicle carrying the Governor.
