Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday announced payment of 27% interim relief (IR) to its employees, pending the recommendations of the Pay Revision Commission.

Principal finance secretary Shamsher Singh Rawat issued an order to this effect, stating that interim relief would be paid at the rate of 27% of the basic pay with monetary benefit from July 1, 2019.

Pay scales of state government employees were last revised with effect from July 1, 2013 but the monetary benefits were extended from June 2, 2014, consequent to the state bifurcation.

The government constituted the 11th Pay Revision Commission, headed by retired IAS officer Ashutosh Mishra, on May 28, 2018.

Though the commission was supposed to submit its recommendations within a year, its tenure was extended till September 30, 2019.

Service associations representing the employees requested the government to sanction interim relief, pending the final recommendations of the commission.

After taking over as chief minister on May 30, YS Jaganmohan Reddy accepted the employees’ request and accordingly the Cabinet, at its first meeting on June 10, approved the IR proposal.

The interim relief will impose an extra financial burden of Rs 815 crore on the exchequer and benefit around four lakh state government employees.

The IR would be applicable to all government employees, including those working in panchayat raj institutions and urban local bodies, government institutions receiving grants-in-aid, work charged employees and full-time contingent employees who were currently drawing pay in the revised scales, 2015, Rawat said in the order.

The IR would, however, not be applicable to officers of the Andhra Pradesh State Higher Judicial Service, AP State Judicial Service, All India Services and those drawing salaries on UGC, AICTE, ICAR and Government of India scales.

Contract staff and staff of societies, autonomous institutions and public sector undertakings would also not get the 27% hike, Rawat added.