Pune Municipal Employees Face Uncertainty as Diwali Bonus Payment Delayed

Pune, 31st October 2023: With Diwali just nine days away, the festive mood of municipal employees in Pune has been marred by uncertainty over their Diwali bonus, which was initially scheduled for November 1.

The cause of this concern is the inadvertent omission of bonus bills for municipal employees, prompting the Pune Municipal Corporation to reissue the bills. Consequently, the accumulated bonus, which was to be credited under the 7th Pay Commission, has not yet reached employees’ accounts. The municipal administration has assured that employees will receive their bonuses within the next eight days.

Earlier, the Municipal Commissioner had announced that around eight thousand municipal employees would receive their Diwali bonus on November 1. The municipal administration promptly initiated the necessary proceedings. However, a discrepancy emerged when the bills were prepared according to the 6th Pay Commission instead of the mandated 7th Pay Commission. This error led to a reduction of Rs. 10,000 to 15,000 in the expected bonus amount.

Recognizing the error at a late stage, the municipal administration has since begun the process of reissuing the bonus bills to rectify this discrepancy. Ulka Kalaskar, the Chief Accountant of the Pune Municipal Corporation, stated, “Fresh bonus bills were issued last week to rectify the missed bills, although the process is running behind schedule. All employees will receive their bonuses within the next week.”