Shiv Sena headed UD dept restarts double increment for BMC staff with Masters in Marathi

In an apparent move to play the Marathi card ahead of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections, the Shiv Sena-headed urban development department cleared a proposal to restart the policy to give two additional increments to BMC employees who have completed their post-graduation in Marathi subject. UDD minister Eknath Shinde cleared the proposal of the BMC on Monday.

In an apparent move to play the Marathi card ahead of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections, the Shiv Sena-headed urban development department cleared a proposal to restart the policy to give two additional increments to BMC employees who have completed their post-graduation in Marathi subject. UDD minister Eknath Shinde cleared the proposal of the BMC on Monday.

The decision by the department will benefit 1,489 BMC employees and would put a burden of ₹52.63 lakh on the civic body.

The decision by the department will benefit 1,489 BMC employees and would put a burden of ₹52.63 lakh on the civic body.

The double increments were given out since 2011 to promote the use of and encourage studying Marathi language. They had stopped since 2015 after the sixth pay commission came into force, increasing the financial burden on the civic body.

Sena legislator Sunil Prabhu, who was following up on the proposal, said he had written to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and sought intervention from environment and tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray on the issue.

“The proposal was cleared on March 9, 2011, but its implementation was stopped in 2015. At that time, the standing committee had stated that it should be extended till the academic year 2018. This proposal was pending with the government since 2018. Now with this decision, over 1,400 employees will benefit from this decision,” Prabhu said.