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SRINAGAR: The transition of Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory has proven to be a blessing for the government employees in the Himalayan region.
The strong workforce of more than 5 lakh employees, spread across the 20 districts of J&K, after August 5, 2019, when the Centre announced its decision to abrogate the special status of the erstwhile princely state and divided it into two Union Territories, has put in its heart and soul to implement Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to transform Jammu and Kashmir into a super state.
The employees put in their best efforts and have made impossible tasks possible. They are the same employees who used to be at loggerheads with the government when J&K was a state and local politicians were at the helm. Till 2018 favouritism and nepotism was a common phenomenon. Only employees who had political backing and blessings of their political bosses, were given important positions and tasks.
After August 5, 2019, the scenario in ‘Naya J&K’ changed completely, the government cracked the whip on anti-national and corrupt employees, while the nationalists, upright and honest employees were provided with all the opportunities and facilities to come forward and prove their mettle.
Besides making the employees accountable, the government has introduced various schemes to make them comfortable to enhance their performance and productivity.
Soon after J&K started functioning as a Union Territory the government in November 2019 extended various benefits of Central pay grade in favour of the employees in the Himalayan region and brought them at par with the Central Government employees.
Besides a salary hike, they were provided with the benefit of Children Education Allowance (CEA) and hostel subsidy for children. The amount for reimbursement of CEA was fixed at Rs 2,250 per month per child. The ceiling of the hostel subsidy was fixed at Rs 6,750 per month. The reimbursement of CEA for disabled children of government employees was fixed at Rs 4,500 per month.
Government employees can avail of the CEA till the child attains 20 years or is 12th class pass, whichever is earlier. However, the upper age limit for disabled children was fixed at 22 years. The ceiling would be automatically raised by 25 per cent every time the Dearness Allowance (DA) on the revised pay structure goes up by 50 per cent.
Other incentives included transport allowance to the employees for various pay levels.
For acquiring fresh higher qualifications by employees in fields that are directly relevant to their jobs, the government sanctioned a hike ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 30,000.
In June this year, the J&K government launched J&K Bank’s ‘Phone pe Loan’ scheme for its employees.
It was launched with the purpose to allow the employees to avail the facility anytime from anywhere and get the requested eligible amount, under Bank’s Personal Consumption Loan and Cash Credit for salaried employees, disbursed within a few hours. No pre-sanction or post-sanction documents are required for the disbursal of the loan.(ANI)
