MCC to pay Rs. 25,200 to each of the 2,300 civic workers

Mysuru:  Even as the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) re-launched its breakfast scheme for Pourakarmikas on Nov.15, much to their joy, another action by the MCC has brought more cheer to the civic workers who toil hard for keeping the city clean.

Soon the MCC will start crediting breakfast allowance at Rs.20 per day to the accounts of every civic worker attached to the MCC, both regular and outsourced, for a period of 42 months between Mar.1,2015 and Sept.29, 2018. The MCC has 2,208 Pourakarmikas on its rolls (2018-19), including 560 regular and 1,648 outsourced.

The State Government, in an order issued in 2015, had directed all City Corporations (excluding BBMP), City Municipal Corporations (CMCs), Town Municipal Councils (TMCs) and Town Panchayats (TPs) to introduce breakfast scheme  from Mar.1, 2015, to all Pourakarmikas working for them. Following the Government direction, 211 out of the 278 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) introduced the scheme, while 41 bodies started giving breakfast allowance in cash in violation of Government directive and over 20 others defaulted on implementation.

Acting late on the Government direction, the MCC started breakfast scheme to all its Pourakarmikas through Government-run Indira Canteens from Sep.30, 2018. But the scheme was suspended after the MCC began to receive numerous complaints on the quality and quantity of food served. Now, the MCC re-launched the scheme on Nov.15, 2019, marking Kanakadasa Jayanti.

But as it failed to implement the scheme from Mar.1, 2015, the MCC has set aside Rs.2 crore fund out of its 24.1 percent grants, to be given away in cash to Pourakarmikas for the 42-month period (Mar. 2015 to Sept. 2018) that they were not served breakfast. Accordingly, every Pourakarmika will get a cash benefit of Rs.25,200 on an average, calculated at Rs.20 per day for 42 months (Rs.600 per month x 42 months). The  amount, however, will not be given personally in cash but directly credited to the bank accounts of all the beneficiary Pourakarmikas. The MCC has started collecting details of bank accounts of Pourakarmikas, both regular and outsourced.

The Mysuru Deputy Commissioner had written to the State Government seeking special permission for payment of  breakfast allowance in cash to the Pourakarmikas. Subsequently, the Government in an order dated Nov.12, 2019,  granted permission to the MCC, while stipulating a set of conditions, to pay the allowance in cash in lieu of unserved breakfast for 42 months and to earmark funds for the same from MCC’s budgetary allocation.

MCC has estimated the total expenses at nearly Rs.5.7 crore, for which it has earmarked Rs.2 crore now. The MCC will work out ways to set aside the balance Rs.3.7 crore after coming up with a re-worked plan in 2019-20 and a fresh allocation in its 2020-21 budget.

Meanwhile, Mayor Pushpalatha Jagannath said that following Government approval, the MCC has initiated the process of paying breakfast allowance in cash to the civic workers.