SHILLONG, DEC 19: In a pre‑Christmas push, the Meghalaya government has announced the early disbursement of one month’s salary and pension, benefitting roughly 50,000 state employees and over 30,000 pensioners.
The move is aimed at amplifying festive celebrations across the state.
A statement issued by the Commissioner & Secretary in-charge Finance Dr Vijay Kumar on Saturday said, “The Finance Department has released advance payment of one month’s salary and pensions benefitting approximately 50,000 employees and over 30,000 pensioners to amplify the celebrations of the festive season. Additionally, advance payment has also been made for all the casual and contractual employees working across the State.”
The total advance releases amounted to Rs 348.1 crore for salaries, Rs 93.4 crore for pensions, Rs 9.7 crre for wages (casual workers) and Rs 4.1 crore for contractual workers.
In addition to personal emoluments, the department cleared Rs 255.5 crore for the three district councils to cover current and pending salaries.
Contractors’ bills were also settled, with Rs 416.1 crore released under Major Works (object head 53) and Rs 154.7 crore under Minor Works (object head 57).
Key department‑wise releases included: Public Works at Rs 256.4 crore, Urban Affairs – Rs 102.5 crore, Public Health Engineering – Rs 68.6 crore, Sports & Youth Affairs – Rs 60.0 crore, Power – Rs 60.0 crore, Health & Family Welfare – Rs14.0 crore, Community & Rural Development – Rs 102.9 crore and Agriculture & Farmers Welfare – Rs 69.5 crore
The release also highlighted support for flagship schemes, noting that Rs 23 crore has been transferred to 92,051 beneficiaries under the Focus+ scheme via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
“The finance department has made a total release of Rs 1602.9 crore in the month of December from state resources, marking a 30.8% increase over the previous year, to enable Christmas festivities across the state,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, the chief minister, Conrad K Sangma, who is holding charge of finance department, extended heartfelt Christmas and New Year greetings to all citizens of the state.
