Amid reports doing the rounds that Bengal’s economy was in dire straits Kolkata Municipal Corporation on Friday made it clear that it was impossible for the civic body to clear pensions to its retired staff due to fund crunch.
A circular issued by the KMC said that the employees who had retired after September 2021 may not get their pension for now.
According to the KMC circular, “payments of pension and pensionary benefits (to the retired employees who have been superannuated from September 2021) are not currently released due to crisis of fund.” There are 22,000 permanent employees and 26,000 contractual employees working for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
The KMC’s circular comes after Mayor Firhad Hakim made it clear that the civic body was facing a financial crisis. According to sources the Mayor has asked “all concerned” to put up with the situation as the “KMC is taking all possible steps to improve the situation.”
The Corporation has already taken a loan of ` 2,000 crore from the Asian Development Bank and asked for a loan of `700 crore from the State Government which too was facing a financial crisis.
The financial crunch --- that many a critic has blamed on the dole politics of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee --- has reportedly affected a number of sectors including the Health Department which has reduced procurement of medicines meant to be distributed in Government hospitals.
The situation is such that the State Government has already been forced borrow `6,500 crore in three tranches in the present month. Bengal stands second after Uttar Pradesh in terms of borrowing this year.
While the Government officials and ruling Trinamool Congress leaders would not make comments opposition BJP attacked the “populist policies of the Chief Minister” for the situation the Government was presently in.
“This Government is engaged in Khela, Mela and dole … it is spending hundreds of crores giving doles to the clubs that manage votes for the TMC … populist schemes like Laxmir Bhandar has been initiated with no pecuniary return … and now we are in this situation,” said BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya pooh-pooing the TMC for announcing `5,000 for each woman in Goa should it come to power in that State.
“When the CPI(M) left power the Chief Minister began a propaganda that we had left a debt of `2 lakh crore --- though in real terms it was far less --- in 34 years of our rule … but this Government hasborrowed `6 lakh crore in 10 years … this, whereas they have abolished 5.5 lakh government posts,” said CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakrabarty.