Punjab govt says its employees get salaries up to 70 % higher than Union govt counterparts

Punjab government employees have historically received salaries substantially higher than their Union government counterparts, with several cadres drawing 30 % to 70 % higher salaries under the state's pay structure, according to an official statement.

Despite providing Dearness Allowance (DA) at 42 %, compared to the Union government's 60 %, the Punjab government employees in many categories continue to receive higher aggregate monthly salaries because of the state's higher pay scales, it said.

The statement came after the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday directed the state government to clear pending DA of employees and pensioners within a fortnight.

The Punjab government has consistently maintained that it is willing to ensure that no employee receives less than the total emoluments payable under the Union government pay scale together with the Union government DA rate, it said.

However, the state has maintained that the higher Union government DA rate cannot be applied on top of Punjab's already higher pay scales, as the two pay structures cannot be combined, it added.

Punjab has also maintained that fixation of DA is a sovereign policy decision of the state government, it said.

"Punjab already bears the highest salary and pension burden among major Indian states," it said.

According to the state government, implementation of the high court judgement is expected to further increase this burden, reducing the fiscal space available for capital and developmental expenditure.

It cited that the total monthly salary of a clerk in Punjab is Rs 54,812, as against Rs 36,960 in the Union government.

Similarly, a driver in Punjab gets Rs 40,612 in comparison to Rs 36,960 in the Union government.