Hyderabad: In a setback to the Telangana state government, the Supreme Court has directed it to pay the salaries of the 1,253 electricity employees relieved by it on the basis of their nativity, till the final settlement is done.
The SC set aside the ruling of the Hyderabad HC, which had earlier directed the AP and TS governments to share the salary burden. All three parties — the TS and AP state governments and the relieved Employees JAC — had filed SLPs in the SC. As on date, AP is paying 58 per cent of the salaries of the relieved electricity employees and TS is paying 42 per cent, as per the 58:42 ratio.
The total salary component of the relieved employees is about Rs 20 crore per month. Though TS power utility officials along with their counterparts from AP had tried for an out of court settlement, the parties could not arrive at a consensus. “It is a major relief but only the issue of who has to pay the salary has been decided,”said JAC convener N. Giridhar.
Committee meet to be held today
“Now, in which of the two states the relieved employees should work is yet to be decided and this case is pending in the High Court,” added JAC convener N. Giridhar. The crucial meeting of the High Court-appointed Justice Dharmadhikari Committee to decide the fate of the 1,253 electricity employees relieved by the TS government will be held on Saturday. Based on its report, the High Court will decide whether the employees should work in AP or TS.When contacted, TS energy sector officials said they would comment on the issue only after going through the full copy of the SC ruling. “While every word of the SC ruling will be complied with, even the pending case in the High Court needs to be settled,” an official said.
