Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Narendra Modi completed 10 years as Gujarat Chief Minister on Friday.
BJP is organizing several programmes to mark ten years of Modi’s rule, who took oath as Chief Minister on 7 October, 2001 in Gandhinagar. He replaced the then Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel who was asked to step down by the BJP central leadership.
Since then, he has won two Assembly polls with 2/3rd majority in Gujarat, and three Assembly polls personally contesting from Rajkot, Maninagar and Maninagar.
Modi is Gujarat’s longest serving Chief Minister since 1960 when the state was formed.
To mark the event, Modi has announced a slew of sops which includes Rs 2,250-crore package for the state government employees and new recruitment for 50,000 posts.
4.54 lakh state employees and 3.47 lakh pensioners will get their third installment of arrears, on account of change in salaries as per the 6th Pay Commission, in cash instead of the amount being deposited in their respective Government Provident Fund (GPF).
Modi said dearness allowance (DA) of state government employees and pensioners would be increased by 7 per cent, equivalent to that of the central government employees. The hike in DA would be payable with effect from July 2011.
According to Modi, of Rs Rs 2250-crore package, a sum of Rs 1,377 crore would be disbursed among the over eight lakh state employees and pensioners as payment of third installment of arrears.
Another Rs 873 crore would be spent towards increase in DA, said the Chief Minister, who faces Assembly polls in late 2012. Modi further said 50,000 persons would get Government jobs by end of the current financial year.
He also announced hike in salaries, ranging from Rs 800 to Rs 4,400, of over one lakh contractual government employees on fixed pay which include assistant teachers, Lok Rakshak Dal members and administrative assistants.
With Agency Inputs
