The government on Thursday announced Pongal bonus for its employees and pensioners.
The move will cost Rs. 326.49 crore to the exchequer. An official release said those in ‘C’ and ‘D’ Groups and teachers would get bonus equal to 30 days salary with a ceiling of Rs 3,000. Those belonging to the ‘A’ and ‘B’ categories would receive a special bonus of Rs. 1,000.
The special bonus would also cover workers, full time or part-time, being paid on consolidated pay and those on the scales of pay stipulated by the University Grants Commission / the All India Council for Technical Education / the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and those covered under the All India Service Regulations. Pensioners, family pensioners and retired village officers would be given Rs. 500 as “Pongal gift.”
Cane price static
Another announcement by the government on the determination of State Advised Price (SAP) for sugarcane reveals no change in the price. The previous year’s price was Rs. 2,650 a tonne. It included Rs. 100 towards transportation charge.
In a statement, Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam referred to the Union government’s fixation of Rs. 2,200 a tonne as fair and remunerative price for the current year’s crushing season.
Considering the present difficult situation of the sugar industry, the Karnataka and Maharashtra governments had decided to give Rs. 2,200 a tonne initially and fix the price subsequently as per the Rangarajan Committee’s recommendation of revenue sharing. However, Tamil Nadu chose to increase the price by Rs. 450 and keep it at Rs. 2,650 a tonne, he said.
Applicable to 43 mills
An official said this would be applicable to 43 sugar mills in the State, of which two belonged to the public sector; 16 cooperative and 25 private.
The previous year’s sugarcane production was 157 lakh tonnes, of which private mills accounted for two-thirds.
