6% DA to Central Government employees to cost the nation Rs. 3900 Crores

By Vijay Kumar

Central Government employees are to get an additional DA of 6%. This is going to cost the Government Rs. 3900 Crores in the Financial Year. This is an indication of what the employees can expect from the Pay Commission. The pay bill of the government is about 66000 Crores and if this is increased by say 20%,, it will go up to nearly 80,000 Crores. Can the government really afford such a huge salary bill? An Inspector in Central Excise told DDT that if his salary is not increased to at least Rs. 40,000/- by the pay commission, he would quit. DDT advised him to quit immediately as there was not even a remote chance of his salary going up nearly three times. But he was hopeful. He said that the director of an IIM is a member of the Pay Commission and he would understand that if you pay pea nuts, you get monkeys! But who knows, may be the government is happy with monkeys! And for pea nuts!