Pratap Sarnaik orders ST staff salaries paid before Diwali, which begins on November 6

About 83,000 officers and employees of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), or ST, will have a happier Diwali this year. Transport Minister and ST Corporation chairman Pratap Sarnaik has taken an important decision, and steps have been taken towards resolving the question of employees' salaries.

So that employees can celebrate Diwali without difficulty and with enthusiasm, Sarnaik has given the ST administration clear directions to credit this month's salary to their bank accounts before the festival.

ST employees are normally paid between the 7th and 10th of every month. This year, however, Diwali begins on November 6. With the festival at hand, salary needs to be in employees' hands beforehand if they are to manage household expenses, shopping and family plans in time. Keeping this in mind, Minister Sarnaik has ordered the administration to act in time.

Strict instructions have also been given that the corporation's finance and planning department should pursue the matter urgently with the state government so that salaries can be paid before Diwali. Sarnaik has also said special efforts should be made to obtain the government grant needed for employees' salaries, and to recover in time the dues owed by the government for various passenger concessions in previous months. Priority has been given to ensuring that, even if the corporation faces any financial difficulty or shortage of funds, employees' festive joy is not affected.

The ST Corporation often bears financial strain while meeting daily running costs, fuel costs and its salary obligations. At such times, coordinating properly with the government, securing funds on time and crediting salaries before Diwali is a major challenge for the administration.

Even so, the minister's decision has brought great relief to thousands of ST employees in the state. The 83,000 ST employees across the state are now watching on which date the salary is actually credited and how quickly the administration implements the directions.