Mumbai: Early Diwali for BMC, but not for BEST

Employees receiving bonus include BMC officers and aided private primary school teachers, among others. Pic/Ashish Raje

Diwali has come earlier for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) employees as the government on Tuesday announced a bonus of Rs 29,000 for the employees of the civic body. Last year, the BMC employees received Rs 26,000 as Diwali bonus.

The bonus announcement for around one lakh employees of the BMC came just ahead of the Election Commission of India's (ECI) announcement of dates and the Model Code of Conduct for the Maharashtra Assembly elections. The ECI announced on Tuesday at 3.30 pm that the Assembly elections will be held on November 20 and counting will take place on November 23.

BEST officials confirmed that no announcement for Diwali bonus has been made for its employees. Pic/Aishwarya Deodhar

Employees receiving Diwali bonus include BMC officers, aided private primary school teachers, non-teaching staff, and primary school education officers. Secondary school teachers and non-teaching staff of both aided and unaided schools, as well as secondary school education officers, will also receive Diwali bonus. Additionally, teachers and non-teaching staff of both aided and unaided colleges and college education officers will receive the Diwali bonus.

The BMC has also announced a bonus of Rs 12,000 for community health volunteers and R5,000 as a bonus for Anganwadi teachers and assistants as a Bhaubeej gift. Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supplies and Transport (BEST) officials confirmed that no announcement has been made about the Diwali bonus for its employees.

"Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced a Rs 29,000 bonus for the BMC employees, but there was no announcement about the BEST employees," said a BEST official. "We are working on giving a bonus to the BEST employees. We need to check feasibility as the election Model Code of Conduct is in place," the official added.

BEST workers' union leader, Shashank Rao, said that they had demanded a Rs 30,000 Diwali bonus for the 25,000 BEST employees. Last year, the BEST employees had received R26,000 as a Diwali bonus. Rao said that along with the BMC, the BEST employees have been getting a bonus for the past few years. He added that as the chief minister declared a bonus for the BMC, "...We are hoping our employees also get a bonus."

A former BEST official said that the bonus amount is directly deposited in the bank account without declaring it, but as the Model Code of Conduct is in place, the administration needs to consult with the election commission regarding the bonus to the BEST employees.