7th Pay Commission: Good news for Maharashtra state government employees

 The 7th Pay Commission will be implemented for government employees in Maharashtra from January 2019, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Saturday. 

The announcement is significant as Assembly elections are due in Maharashtra next year. The decision will impose an additional burden of a whopping Rs 21,000 crore on the exchequer, as per the government estimate Rs 4,800 crore would be allocated for the implementation of Pay Commission in the Budget, the chief minister said.

The decision comes against the backdrop of the Maharashtra State Gazetted Officers Federation, Maharashtra State Employees Organisation and the Maharashtra State Class Four Employees Association threatening to go on a three-day strike from August 7 for various demands including pay hike. "The arrears of 7th Pay Commission will be given retrospective from January 2016 while the Dearness Allowance will be retrospective for the last 14 months," the chief minister said in a statement after chairing a meeting with the unions.