The Times of India              28.10.2013

Civic body to release salaries, bonus from today

AURANGABAD: Keeping its promise of providing salaries and bonus to its employees before Diwali, the Aura-ngabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) on Sunday said it would deposit Rs 7.5 crore in different bank accounts on Monday to facilitate the payments.

During last Diwali, despite strong protests and agitations by different organizations of the employees, the AMC could not release the salaries before the festival. N G Durrani, accounts officer in AMC, said that all the employees would receive the payments by October 29. "The civic body is all set to deposit Rs 65 lakh in three different banks on Monday to so that the employees could withdraw money. The AMC will also deposit a cheque for Rs 6.9 crore," he said.

"Besides, the bills of daily wages employees and link workers are being prepared so as to clear their salaries and payments against Diwali gift," he said.

Durrani said the AMC had stopped all other payments from October 10 and arranged the funds for releasing salaries and bonus. For the first time in four years, the AMC is paying Diwali bonus and salaries to its 5,232 employees. The AMC had been delaying employees' salaries every month. Employees have to wait till 25th of every month to get payments. However, in October, the AMC had to pay current and advance salaries due in November.

The release of funds will bring cheer to 3,058 class IV employees who will get Rs 2,415 each on account of ex-gratia, while 231 class IV daily wage employees would receive Rs 2,000 each as Diwali gift, 585 class III and education department employees would get Rs 5,000 each as advance payment and 412 Balwadi teachers will get Rs 1,000 each.