The Assam government on Thursday announced a 20-per cent Durga Puja bonus for workers of tea gardens under the state-owned ATCL, at par with the amount already declared by over 500 garden managements.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the cabinet has also approved one-day additional leave for Durga Puja to state government employees.
An additional amount of Rs 250 was also sanctioned for ‘Orunodoi’ beneficiaries for October, he said.
20-per cent bonus for ATCL tea workers
Addressing a press conference here after chairing a cabinet meeting, Sarma said that workers of tea gardens under the state-owned Assam Tea Corporation Ltd (ATCL) will receive 20-per cent Durga Puja bonus.
“Out of 807 tea gardens in the state, 548 have already announced 20-per cent bonus. We have now done it for the ATCL gardens. And, I hope that the companies and owners of the remaining gardens will also give the same amount of bonus,” the CM said.
Extra Durga Puja holiday for state employees
He said that the cabinet has approved an additional holiday on October 17 for state government employees, as the Durga Puja leaves were being otherwise limited to three days this year, with one of the festival days falling on a Sunday.
“The Durga Puja holiday will now be from October 17 to October 20,” the chief minister said.
Orunodoi beneficiaries to get special allocation
Sarma said ‘Orunodoi’ beneficiaries will receive Rs 1,500 for the month of October, instead of the regular Rs 1,250, as a Durga Puja special allocation.
“We will take a similar initiative for the Rongali Bihu in April,” he added.