Chief Minister’s bonanza for government employees

Speaking under Rule 110 of the assembly, Jayalalithaa declared that the amount given to next of kin of government employees dying in harness would be increased to Rs 3 lakh. Similarly, the amount under the group insurance scheme for government employees would also be doubled to Rs 3 lakh. The services of those employed on compassionate grounds would be regularised, with effect from Feb 1, 2016, and where TNPSC concurrence was necessary this would be done after publication of necessary government orders, she said.

The pension of retired noon meal employees and retired Anganwadi workers would be raised to Rs 1,500, the Chief Minister said. Gratuity for retired noon meal workers would be increased to Rs 60,000 while those of cooks and their helpers would be increased to Rs 25,000, she added. 

In the rural development department, the duration for time-bound promotion for diploma engineers would be reduced from 10 to 7 years, while for graduate engineers it would be 4 years instead of 7 years, she said.

In the school education department, those promoted as Grade II physical directors would not have to undertake tests in mathematics, while in the health department, associate professors in government medical college hospitals would be designated as professors. 

Similarly, services of nurses working on consolidated pay would be regularised. Also, 605 village health nurses would be promoted as department health nurses, she informed.

In the higher education department, guest lecturers in arts and science colleges would have their monthly honoraria raised to Rs 15,000 from Rs 10,000 a month. Informing that an expert panel would be set up to go into the demand to scrap the contributory pension and to revert to the old pension scheme, she said that the State Pay Commission would go into pay anomalies. 

During another discussion in the house, electricity minister Natham R Viswanathan said that the 4 X 500 MW Sillahalla hydro-electric project would go on stream in seven years. Replying to Madathukulam MLA C Shanmugavel’s demand to execute the upper Amaravathy dam project in Udumalpet, he said schemes for a total of 103 MW were started in the current regime. 

He added that the Amaravathy project was dropped as 600 acres needed for the project was fell under forest and animal sanctuary limits.