Telangana stares at mounting wage bill as employees press for DA, pay revision
Telangana's salary expenditure is rising steadily. Pending DA instalments and pay revision demands threaten a major fiscal strain.
Telangana is facing a significant fiscal challenge as state employees intensify demands for pending dearness allowance (DA) instalments and implementation of revised pay scales. A lunch-hour demonstration at the Secretariat on Tuesday highlighted the growing pressure on the government's finances.
Protesters are seeking the release of five pending DA instalments, restoration of the old pension scheme, and the long-awaited pay revision. The timing of these demands is critical, as provisional data submitted to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India shows the state has already spent ₹17,874 crore on salaries and wages by the end of July in the current fiscal year. This figure represents a substantial portion of the ₹48,358 crore total expenditure budgeted for the year.
Official expenditure statements reveal a consistent upward trend in the salary bill over recent years. The state's revenue expenditure on salaries from the consolidated fund stood at ₹30,189 crore in 2024-25, up from ₹27,883 crore in 2023-24, ₹25,178 crore in 2022-23, and ₹21,650 crore in 2021-22.
The financial implications of the current demands are considerable. Releasing the five pending DA instalments alone is expected to increase salaries by 15.43% across various employee cadres. Furthermore, calculating new pay scales based on DA-merged salaries would compound the fiscal strain.
Context for the current agitation lies in the previous government's actions. The former BRS administration had implemented an interim relief of 5% alongside the announcement of a Pay Revision Commission (PRC), headed by retired bureaucrat N. Shiva Shankar, ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
Employee unions have expressed dissatisfaction with this interim measure, arguing it is far too modest. They point to the 43% and 30% fitment benefits granted by the previous government during its two pay revisions over its nine-year tenure. Unions are now urging the current administration to announce a higher fitment benefit, consistent with those earlier revisions.