SCCL executives await PRP dues as govt delays approval

SCCL executives are awaiting clearance of Rs.277 crore in performance related pay for 2022-23 and 2023-24, with the State government yet to approve the disbursal, prompting concerns and possible protests by officers’ associations.

Kothagudem: It is not just retired and serving government employees who are troubled by the Congress government, which has inordinately delayed their rightful dues, including retirement benefits and allowances. Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) executives are also facing hardship as the State government has failed to give its nod to pay the performance related pay (PRP) for the past couple of years.

PRP in SCCL is a variable pay and part of the salary, as implemented in Coal India Limited (CIL) with effect from January 1, 2007, based on company profitability and individual performance ratings, benefiting thousands of executives. As many as 2,300 executives across the 11 SCCL areas are waiting for the PRP to be paid for the financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24. Executives who retired during the period are also eligible to receive PRP.

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Speaking to Telangana Today, Coal Mines Officers Association of India (CMOAI)-affiliated Singareni Officers Association president T Lakshmipathi Goud said PRP dues worth Rs.277 crore, Rs.117 crore for 2022-23 and Rs.160 crore for 2023-24, are yet to be paid.

The SCCL Board has cleared the proposal to disburse the PRP to the executives, but the company management is waiting for clearance from the government. The government is yet to give its nod even though the PRP is to be cleared soon after the closure of the financial year. SCCL has performed well across the 11 parameters used for calculating and approving the performance related pay. PRP was last paid in 2021-22, Lakshmipathi Goud noted.

The association office-bearers recently held a meeting to chalk out a plan of action to get the matter resolved. They have decided to wait for a couple of weeks; if the government fails to respond, agitations like relay hunger strikes and ‘work to rule’ will be taken up, he added.

Telangana Boggu Ghani Karmika Sangham (TBGKS) chief general secretary Kapu Krishna said that during the BRS regime, PRP was cleared at regular intervals. There are rumours that the government top brass wanted about 10 per cent of the pending PRP dues to be paid as a ‘party fund’, he noted.