Hyderabad: Less than a month after the trifurcation of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) into three civic bodies, thousands of municipal employees are yet to receive their salaries, pushing many into financial distress.In an unusual situation, even senior officials such as deputy commissioners and assistant municipal commissioners have not been paid — a rarity in recent years. Employees said the delay already resulted in cheque bounces and missed EMI payments, placing several families under financial pressure.Of the 60 circles under GHMC, employees in a majority of them had not received their salaries by Monday, March 9 even though salaries are usually credited by the first of every month. “This is the first time that salaries at the officer level were delayed. I have EMIs to clear, and the delay will lead to penalties,” said a deputy commissioner in GHMC.Another senior official in GHMC said he has a housing loan EMI due on the ninth of every month, and his cheque for this month was set to bounce. “This will also impact my CIBIL score. Though higher officials keep saying the salary will be credited within an hour, it has still not reflected in my account,” said an assistant municipal commissioner in GHMC on Monday.The problem is not limited to GHMC alone. Employees of the newly formed Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation (MMC) and Cyberabad Municipal Corporation (CMC) also said they are facing similar delays. The situation is particularly grim for outsourcing staff in departments such as entomology, transport, and sanitation, who get meagre payments.On their part, officials from the administration wing attribute the delay to income tax return (ITR) processing and related administrative formalities, explaining that salary bills are processed in batches and, if even one employee’s ITR details are pending, it can halt the entire payment file.“Salary bills are currently stuck at the audit stage in places such as Charminar circle, delaying their clearance. Many of us depend solely on our monthly salaries. Even a short delay makes it difficult to manage expenses. We urge the authorities to expedite the process and release the salaries immediately,” said U Gopal, president, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Employees Union.
