Several news outlets on Thursday put out reports claiming that sweepers in Hyderabad are earning salaries of up to Rs 2 lakh per month due to multiple pay revisions.
They have quoted the state chief secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao, claiming that the state is paying up to Rs 6,000 crore for employees’ salaries every month, and have highlighted how certain categories of employees are drawing huge salaries.
Sweepers and engineers in state power utilities got a special mention. While some sweepers were reportedly drawing up to Rs 2 lakh per month, senior engineers in the Telangana transmission corporations were receiving up to Rs 7 lakh salary.
The news spread like wildfire due to its surprise value, with many wondering about the sweepers’ salary. Several also seem to believe that it was totally possible, since the government is known to be a generous paymaster. However, a verification by THE WEEK shows the news may not be accurate, at least for the sweepers.
THE WEEK first contacted Paladugu Bhaskar, state secretary of the Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and veteran leader of municipal workers. He dismissed the news and said that it was impossible.
He directed THE WEEK to a recently retired sanitation worker, K. Venkataiah, who said that a Rs 2 lakh salary was never heard of in his years of service.
Out of about 20,000 sanitation workers, only about 2,500 are regularised.
“It could be Rs 80,000 maximum, with all benefits included,” he said. Notably, the government had stopped regularisation in 1992.
Nanda Kishore, a leader of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, also confirmed that there was no sweeper who was receiving such a high salary.
“Sweepers are Grade IV employees and start with a salary of about Rs 28,000. We haven’t had regularisation in the recent past. Even if a sweeper has 40 years’ service, which could be the utmost, they would reach up to Rs 80,000-90,000. Even senior assistant-level employees retire with a salary of Rs. 1.5 lakh. We haven’t seen any sweeper who drew such a massive salary,” he confirmed.
The basis and veracity of chief secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao's statement is yet to be ascertained. The story will be updated once confirmed.
