Pune: In a major relief to the employees of the Pune Cantonment Board (PCB), the Ministry of Defence (MoD) released Rs53.5 crore to clear financial dues accumulated over nearly a decade. The grant would primarily be used to settle arrears related to the Seventh Central Pay Commission, pension payments, and promotion-linked allowances owed to both serving and retired staffers.PCB chief executive officer Vidyadhar Pawar stated that the entire amount has been specifically allocated to address employee-related liabilities that remained unpaid for years due to the civic body’s strained finances.“We submitted a special proposal to the ministry in Dec last year,” Pawar told TOI. “This grant will cover two installments of the seventh pay commission arrears, pension liabilities, and allowances related to periodic promotions..”For many current and retired staff members, the disbursement marks the end of a prolonged wait. Some employees had been consistently petitioning the administration to release the arrears, which had been stalled since the PCB’s financial crisis cropped up in 2014.Officials noted that the removal of the local body tax (LBT) and the vehicle entry tax significantly crippled the board’s independent income. Furthermore, the civic body does not receive a share of the GST from either the state or central govts, further shrinking its revenue base.“This special grant was the need of the hour and will certainly uplift morale in the coming days,” said Brigadier Tarunesh, president, Pune Cantonment Board.PCB’s deep financial crisis continues to affect daily operations. Salaries for both permanent and contractual employees for Feb have yet to be disbursed. CEO Vidyadhar Pawar confirmed the delay, saying, “Due to ongoing financial issues, we could not process the Feb salaries. We are currently working on a solution.” Employees said the board is now entirely dependent on the ministry for survival.
