Srinagar, Mar 11: After nearly a year of recurring delays in salary disbursement, authorities at Government Medical College Baramulla have said corrective measures have been put in place to ensure that employees receive their salaries on time in the coming months.
The newly established medical college located in Kanthbagh processes the salaries of around 1,500 employees every month. However, staff had raised concerns as payments were frequently delayed over the past year.
Speaking to Rising Kashmir, Chief Accounts Officer Muhammad Shafi Wani said the administration has streamlined procedures to avoid further delays.
“We prepare the biometric attendance from the 20th of every month, which is then sent to the Principal’s office for verification. After that, the records are forwarded to the accounts section and subsequently to the treasury for processing. Because of this multi-stage procedure, the process takes some time,” he said.
Explaining the delay in releasing salaries for February, Wani said the process took longer due to annual tax calculations and the Holi holidays.
“This month we had to complete yearly tax calculations, which required additional time. The Holi holidays also caused some delay. However, the salaries have now been credited to the employees’ accounts,” he said.
Wani added that salaries are generally credited between the 1st and 5th of every month and that steps have now been taken to streamline the system.
“We have put measures in place to ensure such delays do not occur in the coming months,” he said.
He said staff shortage in the accounts section had also contributed to the delays.
“Until recently, only two people were working in the accounts section. Now we have deployed one additional accountant from the Jammu and Kashmir Accounts and Treasuries Department and two more staff members are currently being trained. By next month, the accounts section will have five personnel handling the work,” he said.
According to Wani, several processes have also been digitised to make salary disbursement smoother and faster.
“We have resolved the issues and are further streamlining the staff and procedures so that the problem does not arise again,” he said.
He added that staff shortage remains a broader challenge for the institution, with around 40–45 percent of posts currently vacant.
“These vacancies have been communicated to the administrative department and reflected in the budget proposals,” he said.
Wani said that when the medical college was established, there were 53 ministerial posts, but over the years many employees moved to other departments.
“Today, only about 28 employees remain from that batch and the rest of the posts are vacant,” he said.
