AGARTALA, April 23 (TIWN): Agitated teachers held a 4 hour long protest at Agartala on Sunday led by Joint Teachers' Movement Committee (JTMC), raising voice for 7th pay commission’s implementation at the earliest in Tripura, when many states are enjoying the pay commission already. Many teachers’ associations joined the protest move including the members of CPI-M backed TGTA, demanding pay commission as well as refunding of DA, which has already ordered by HC. The Finance Minister had offered a Rs. 600 crores budget for 1.5 lakhs of employees in Tripura, whereas, about the pay structure nothing has been made clear by his Ministry. Reportedly, NE Tripura Govt employees are one of the highest deprived employees, when the Centre is paying the 100 % salary of the employees here. Many cases also were registered against the Govt, and already state govt lost in the DA case at HC but presently the case is pending at SC which has filed by Tripura Govt against HC’s order.

The teachers group also alleged that teachers are the most deprived among all the state govt employees in Tripura.

The employees alleged that giving a green signal to ‘No-Pay Commission’, ‘No-Pay-review’, Tripura Finance Minister Bhnaulal Saha in the Assembly budget said that presently to hike the budget as per 4th Pay Commission is not possible. Saha clearly announced that even though the demand for the salary and pensioners were Rs. 58.399 crores but it has been allocated Rs. 30,501 crores, but it’s not possible to bear the hiked amount of salary, pension under 4rth Pay Commission.
 “Whatever salary and pension it will be done with Rs. 600 crores for this Financial Year”, said Saha. “It’s quite impossible for the state govt to bring any development under it and pay review will be done with this amount only and it has to be accepted as per the present tight situation of the Finance Dept of Tripura”, Saha added.
 Later the Govt had set a pay review committee and only after the report Tripura Govt to announce about its final decision. A source said that it will take around 3 months to know about the committee’s decision. 
'Give us 3 / 4 months more time to think how Rs. 600 crores will be spent for employees', Tripura Finance Minister after Cabinet Meeting, one day after  Joint Teachers' Movement Committee (JTMC) announced about their protest schedule. 
 Joint Teachers' Movement Committee (JTMC), President Ranajit Dey said, "In the Pay Commission announced by the Central Govt 125 % DA was added with the present basic salary, whereas more 30 % basic has been increased. Already the Central Govt employees are getting the amount from 2016-1st January. Already in other states the 7th pay commission has been implemented or paycommission has been implemented, but surprisingly, while presenting the budget the finance minister with the excuse of no fund denied to implement 7th pay commission, whereas as per the Assembly data from 2013 to 2016 under the sanctioned fund for Tripura Govt employees, there are atleast 932.55 crores have kept as unspent".

With total 11 charters of demands the teachers held the protest at Agartala, near Durga Bari, for long  4 hrs.