Source: The Imphal Free Press
Imphal, December 18:
The Reserve Bank of India, RBI has removed its ban on state government encashments, clearing the way for payment of three months' pending salaries of government employees.
According to sources in the state finance department, the RBI branch at Nagpur had informed the department on December 13 last that the state's overdraft with the Central bank has been cleared, but the department was intimated of the removal of the encashments ban only this morning.
It may be mentioned that the finance department, in a notification issued on December 14 had announced that payment of salaries and pensions and some other categories of payments would be allowed from today onwards.
However, today being a bandh, no bank transactions took place, and payment of salaries and pensions could not take place.
The sources revealed that the RBI's ban was removed after the Centre released a sum of Rs 51 crores in the form of Central Plan Assistance and deficit grant to the state.
It is pertinent to mention here that expenditure on salaries and pensions for the three months will amount to Rs 170 crores.
In addition, other categories of payments are expected to amount to over Rs 300 crores, so that the state finance department is expecting the state's overdraft with the RBI to cross the Rs 300 crores figure next month.
The finance department's notification of December 14, cover, beside salaries and pensions, retirement benefits, ration money, medical advances and reimbursements, ex-gratia and relief and rehabilitation payments, GPF withdrawals, and grant-in-aid bills pertaining to salaries of grant-in-aid bodies upto the month of November.
It may also be mentioned that the Union ministry of home affairs has promised an aid package of Rs 125 crores for the state in March 2002.In the meanwhile, while the state's budget for 2001-2002 has been passed by the Lok Sabha, it has yet to be passed by the Rajya Sabha.