No salary for 6 months to college teachers, seems govt has declared ‘unofficial financial emergency’: PCCTU

He further said, “The salary bill was submitted to the treasury office on August 19, but even after 21 days, it has not been approved.”

“The union representatives have met Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and other officials such as the finance secretary, higher education secretary and treasury secretary. Each time, they were assured that the grant would be released soon, but the situation remains unchanged,” Singh said.

PCCTU district secretary Dr Sunder said, “While the AAP government makes big claims of bringing an education revolution, the reality is entirely different. How a government, which is unable to clear a pending salary bill of just Rs 76 crore (pending for 6 months), claim to be functioning properly. Punjab’s treasury is effectively empty, and a financial emergency has begun.”

Dr Raman Sharma said, “The union will expose the hollow promises of AAP’s ‘vibrant Punjab’ to the public. The union plans to inform all 117 MLAs about the state’s financial crisis and the plight of college staff, and also raise awareness among students in colleges about the government’s failures.”

“In my 30-year career, I have never seen such a helpless and hollow government, where there is no coordination between bureaucrats and ministers. It is the first time I have witnessed a government failing to pay college professors for six consecutive months,” said Dr Rohit of PCCTU.

“The union strongly condemns this attitude of the Punjab government and announced that they will now protest in the streets in response,” said the PCCTU statement.