Meghalaya releases advance salary to employees, pensioners ahead of Christmas

The Meghalaya government on December 20 announced the release of funds across departments, including one-month advance salary payments to around 80,000 employees and pensioners ahead of the Christmas celebrations.

An official said that nearly 50,000 government employees and over 30,000 pensioners have received advance payments. Casual and contractual workers were also extended advances as part of the festive disbursement.

Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, who also holds the Finance portfolio, extended Christmas and New Year greetings to the people of the state, where a majority of the population follows Christianity.

According to officials, the government released ₹348.1 crore towards salaries, ₹93.4 crore for pensions, ₹9.7 crore for wages, and ₹4.1 crore for contractual workers. In addition, ₹255.5 crore was released during the current financial year to the three Autonomous District Councils to clear both current and pending salary liabilities.

A substantial portion of December’s expenditure was allocated to contractor payments under various work heads. Under Major Works (Head 53), ₹416.1 crore was released, while Minor Works (Head 27) received ₹154.7 crore.

The Public Works Department received the highest allocation at ₹256.4 crore, followed by Urban Affairs with ₹102.5 crore, Public Health Engineering with ₹68.6 crore, Sports and Youth Affairs and Power departments with ₹60 crore each, and Health and Family Welfare with ₹14 crore.

Department-wise allocations in December amounted to ₹664.1 crore, led by Community and Rural Development (₹102.9 crore), Power (₹101.2 crore), District Council Affairs (₹101 crore), Planning (₹80.9 crore), and Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (₹69.5 crore).

Separately, ₹23 crore was disbursed through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to 92,051 beneficiaries under the Focus+ scheme, officials added.

The advance disbursements are aimed at providing financial relief and boosting economic activity during the festive season.