NMC staff get no Diwali bonus, face call to give a day's pay for drought relief

Employees of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) face a double financial blow just before Diwali. There is no prospect of a Diwali bonus, and 15 months of dearness allowance (DA) arrears remain unpaid. The administration has also appealed to employees and officers to give a day's salary to the Chief Minister's relief fund to help farmers hit by drought. The move has angered employees who have long been demanding their dues.

The NMC has no provision for a Diwali bonus. Employees usually take a festival advance, which is later deducted from their salaries in equal instalments. This year they had hoped to receive the DA arrears before the festival, but the administration has not yet issued any order for their payment.

Municipal Commissioner Vipin Itankar issued a circular on October 21 asking employees and officers to give a day's salary to the Chief Minister's relief fund to make up for crop losses caused by drought. The step follows a circular issued by the Maharashtra government on October 16.

Along with the circular, the corporation has issued an objection form. Employees who do not wish to contribute can record their objection in it and submit it to their respective heads of department. The administration says employees who contribute will get an income tax exemption.

The contribution is voluntary, but the timing of the appeal has not gone down well with some NMC employees. They say the long delay in the DA arrears and other salary-related benefits should also be addressed at once.

The resentment comes shortly after the Rashtriya Nagpur Corporation Employees Association held a sit-in at Samvidhan Chowk. The association demanded payment of the pending DA, the arrears under the 7th Pay Commission and other long-standing demands.

Because the model code of conduct for the Nagpur Division Graduates' Constituency election is in force, the association could not submit its memorandum to the administration as planned. The code of conduct has also meant that no decision has been taken on the employees' demands so far. The matter is thus stuck, even as employees had hoped for relief before Diwali.

The pending DA arrears cover 15 months. They include a 3 per cent increase for eight months and a 2 per cent increase for the remaining seven months. Employees believe that receiving this amount would be a considerable help with higher household expenses in the festival season.

Association president Surendra Tingane said the association has no objection if employees contribute to drought relief of their own accord, but it opposes any step that adds to the burden on employees' pockets during the festival season.

Tingane said: "The proposal to give a day's salary to the Chief Minister's relief fund is voluntary. An employee who does not want to contribute can fill in the objection form. We have no objection to helping drought-hit farmers, but the deduction should not be made from the October salary, especially in the festival season."

He also said the association will soon meet the municipal commissioner to press for release of the pending DA and the 7th Pay Commission arrears. The memorandum of demands could not be submitted earlier because of the election code of conduct.

For now, NMC employees have found no relief on either front. Long-pending salary dues have not been paid, and they are being asked to consider contributing to drought relief. With Diwali expenses rising and no clear decision on the arrears, employees hope the administration will attend to their demands without delay.