HYDRAA chief assures to revise salary of staff
Hyderabad: Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Protection Agency (HYDRAA) Commissioner A V Ranganath has assured that there will be no cuts to the salaries of staff employed at HYDRAA. The commissioner emphasised that they are actively looking into ways to enhance the salaries of those dedicated employees who tirelessly work around the clock to address natural disasters.
On Monday, HYDRAA marshals boycotted their duties in protest against a perceived salary reduction, raising concerns about potential disruptions to monsoon emergency operations. According to the marshals, the state government had issued a Government Order (GO) standardising salaries for outsourcing employees, fixing marshal pay at Rs 22,500. Previously, HYDRAA marshals were receiving salaries that were Rs 7,000 higher, and this reduction had sparked outrage. The marshals handle critical duties, including monitoring emergency monsoon response teams and operating control rooms.
Following the protest, Ranganath held talks with senior officials to address the issue. Officials assured the marshals that their salaries would not be reduced and that their previous pay scale would be maintained.
The commissioner stated that the government is contemplating a similar strategy. Recently, the government released a directive to standardise the salaries of outsourced employees, which caused some marshals at HYDRAA to worry unnecessarily, he noted.
Due to misinformation, some feared that their salaries could be cut in accordance with this directive.
On Monday, he held talks with them, addressed their concerns, and assured them that their salaries would not be decreased under any circumstances and they would continue to receive the same pay as they did previously.
He further explained that all marshals are former military personnel and that HYDRAA has complete faith in their services. He mentioned that if other states are offering higher salaries than what is provided here, they will also evaluate those policies.