Special Correspondent| Panaji
The state Cabinet on Wednesday approved a one-time scheme granting Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) benefits to nearly 7,000 contract workers, effective from 2017.
Announcing the decision, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the scheme would place a burden of around Rs 2.5 to Rs 3 crore on the state treasury.
The Cabinet also approved an increase in the retirement age of chief engineers in the Public Works Department (PWD), Directorate of Design and
Works (DDW), Electricity Department, and Water Resources Department (WRD) to 62 years. However, this will apply only when no eligible officer is available for promotion.
Sawant said that all work-charge appointments made on a temporary basis henceforth will follow the 6th Pay Commission pay structure, adding that “the pay structure of the existing temporary employees will not be changed.”
The Cabinet further approved the transfer of over one lakh sqm of government land for the Goa College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences — one lakh sqm at Curti and 66,000 sqm at Codar — on a 33-year lease.