The Meghalaya government hasdecided to defer the payment of a part of the salaries of cabinet ministers, bureaucrats, and its 80,000 employees as the hill state battles the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a notification.Half of the salaries of Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, his cabinet colleagues and all ranks of IAS, IPS and IFS will get deferred, Chief Secretary M S Rao said in the notification issued on Tuesday.A part of the gross salaries of All India Services officers on deputation to the state will also be deferred, he said.The decision was taken in view of the unprecedented situation arising due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, the consequent lockdown is likely to slow down the national and the state economies, the chief secretary said.It was, therefore, necessary to put in place expenditure control and cash management systems so that resources are available for effective management of the COVID-19 situation, he said.Accordingly, the measures were taken with regard to the salaries for April, which will be paid in May, and May, which will be paid in June, Rao said.The government said there will be a deferment of 35 per cent in the gross salaries of Group A and B officers, and 25 per cent in respect of Group C staff of all departments, except the officers and staff of the Department of Health and Family Welfare and the Group C employees of the departments of Home (Police) and Home (Civil Defence and Home Guards)."The proportion of the deferment in salaries for Group A, B and C employees indicated above will also be applicable to all the institutions being provided Grant-in-aid (Salary) by the State Government except for Group C employees of the Municipal Boards," the notification said.The government has decided that there will be no deferment in payment of salaries to Group D employees and payment of pensions.Meghalaya has reported 12 cases of COVID-19 so far and of them, one person has died.
