CM meets Pay Commission chairman, seeks report

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday met Prof Abhirup Sarkar, chairman of the Sixth Pay Commission and reportedly asked him to submit their report soon. Banerjee held a meeting with Sarkar for some time at Nabanna.

The Sixth Pay Commission was formed on November 27, 2015, months before the 2016 Assembly election, to restructure the salary of state government employees. Headed by Prof Sarkar, the panel was scheduled to submit its report within six months. It eventually got periodic extensions.

It may be mentioned here that Banerjee had said on Monday that the Bengal government will decide on bridging the gap between Dearness Allowances (DA) of state and Central government employees only after getting recommendations from the Pay Commission. Employees of the Centre currently get around 23 percent more DA than their Bengal government counterparts.

According to sources, the meeting between Banerjee and Sarkar remained inconclusive. On last Monday, Banerjee had made it clear that the state government requires money to run the administration. She had also said that she would try her best to bridge the gap in DA. She also clarified that she would not stop various government schemes including Khadya Sathi, Kanyashree and Swasthya Sathi.