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| Centre allots Rs 300 cr to Arunachal for paying arrears |
| Press Trust of India / Itanagar Aug 10, 2009, 15:03 IST |
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The Centre is giving Rs 300 crore to Arunachal Pradesh to meet the 'resource gap', which will enable the state government pay 15 months arrears to its employees to fulfil commitments made before the last Lok Sabha elections.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has agreed to it, AICC General Secretary in-charge of the state V Narayansami told a press conference here today.
But it would not be given as 'green bonus' as demanded by the government to compensate revenue loss following the 1966 Supreme Court order to stop all timber activities in the hilly state, which has 84 per cent forest cover, said Narayansami, who is the Union minister of state for Planning and Parliamentary Affairs.
The funds were made available after prodding from UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said.
The payment of 30 months arrears for implementation of 6th Pay Commission for central employees was a big election issue during the Lok Sabha polls.
Both Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the BJP president Rajnath Singh had promised at election rallies here to do their best to see that employees received the arrears.
Earlier employees, who form a large chunk of voters, went on an indefinite strike paralysing the administration forcing the government to invoke ESMA.
Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, who lobbied in New Delhi for over a month in July to secure the funds before the state assembly election was announced, said 15 months arrear would be paid by August 15 and the rest by March next year.
Election for the 40-member assembly is scheduled in October.
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