Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel Presents Bonuses to 38,000 Government Workers

Raipur: In a significant policy reversal, the government of Chhattisgarh has decided to abolish the stipend provision implemented in 2020, which mandated that government employees recruited directly would only start receiving their full salary in the fourth year of their service. This announcement was made by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel at the Rajiv Yuva Mitan Sammelan on Saturday, a decision later ratified by the state cabinet that evening, as relayed by a government official on Sunday.

This regulation modification is slated to positively affect approximately 38,000 government employees and officials, enhancing their financial compensation in the initial years of their service. As per the revoked provision, the employees were originally entitled to receive 70%, 80%, and 90% of the base pay scale in their first, second, and third year of their probation period, respectively. Following the change, they will now be eligible to receive their full salary much earlier. The official noted that prior to the 2020 amendment, the probation period was only two years, during which employees would receive their full salary from the outset.

The adjustment to the stipend rule in 2020 was undertaken during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic on July 19, justified as a necessary measure to secure additional financial resources to aid in combating the pandemic and to decrease salary expenditures for forthcoming appointments, aiming for improved financial management and administrative efficiency.

This policy alteration by the Congress-led government in Chhattisgarh, which seems to be a beneficial move for the employees, comes just before the anticipated assembly elections slated for later this year, potentially positioning the ruling party favorably amongst a sizable chunk of the state workforce.