Bathinda, July 17
To avoid any confrontation, the Punjab Government has decided to engage itself in a dialogue with its employees over the issues pertaining to cut made in their salaries, including freezing of DA, for about one year to tide over the financial crisis which it has been facing from day one.

Informed sources revealed that a committee, including three to four ministers and the Chief Secretary, Mr Y.S. Ratra, had been constituted to open the dialogue with the representatives of various employees’ unions over the issue pertaining to cut in salaries. The main purpose of holding a dialogue with the employees was that they should be made aware of the fact that the Punjab Government had taken these short-term measures to tide over the financial crisis as a major part of the Budget outlay was being consumed by salaries and pensions.

Sources said the committee would also make efforts to drive home the point that the expansion of the Cabinet had also been delayed as the state government was in the grip of a severe financial crisis due to the bad fiscal management of the previous SAD-BJP combine government.

During the dialogue, the suggestions given by the employees to improve the financial health of the state would be taken care of and the authorities concerned would be directed to apply their minds on the same for implementation. The other problems of the employees would also be addressed.

Mr Surinder Singla, Chairman, High Powered Finance Committee, Punjab, while confirming the constitution of a committee of ministers, including the Chief Secretary, for holding talks with the employees, pointed out that the previous SAD-BJP combine government had made the financial health of the state bad by diverting food credit worth Rs 2400 crore on unproductive and unplanned expenditure limiting the RBI and other banks not to finance Punjab for wheat and paddy procurement. With the fiscal reforms, which the Punjab government had initiated, the government had managed to get funds to procure wheat in April and May and would arrange adequate funds for procuring paddy in the coming season smoothly.

To arrest the deteriorating financial health, short-term measures had been taken. And once the state economy is put back on the rails, those, who had been feeling the pinch would also reap the benefits of fiscal reforms. The government had decided that no further diversion of food credit would take place. “Only fiscal reforms can fetch adequate funds from the Centre and other agencies for procuring paddy to save the farmers from the risk of their crop not being procured,” he added.

The slowing down of economy would not help the employees in any way. The government and its employees would have to work not closely but in unison to put the state economy back on the rails to generate new streams of income to save the state from a financial mess. New dimensions were required to be given to financial management for creating more job opportunities.

he pointed out that the SAD-BJP leadership which had been trying to hammer the Congress government over the cuts imposed in salaries of employees should tell the people why it had not given Rs 200 crore to the employees which was pending for the past more than one year. All the SAD and BJP MLAs kept mum when he raised this issue in the Assembly in his speech.