Minister for Muzrai and Backward Classes Welfare Kota Srinivas Poojary said that the salaries of Muzrai department employees will be paid as per the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission and a final decision will be taken soon.
In a press conference here, the minister said that a meeting of State Dharmika Parishat is convened at Vidhan Soudha on April 9, to discuss about the salaries. “There are a few technical problems to implement the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations and a majority of them are sorted out. The recommendations will be implemented after holding a discussion with Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa,” he said.
Poojary said that the process of setting up management committees for ‘B’ and ‘C’ category temples, across Karnataka, is under progress. The respective district-level Dharmika Parishat will finalise the management committees.
Training will be imparted to the management committee members on their role and responsibilities, the minister said.
The minister said that priests are demanding health and life insurance and pension. The matter will be discussed with the CM and a decision will be taken in a month, he said.
The minister said that the department has issued strict guidelines, following the outbreak of Covid-19 second wave. Several jatra mahotsavas were held across the state and thus, the department has directed to limit the celebrations only to religious rituals. The department would restrict large gatherings and also ban entry of the devotees to the temples, if the spread of Covid increases, he said.
The minister said that the Backward Classes Welfare Department is running more than 2,400 hostels and all precautionary measures are in place to contain the spread of Covid. In order to improve the hostels, district-level officials are directed to stay in a hostel once a week and state-level officials are asked to stay in a hostel once in a fortnight.