In Brief 8212; Pune

State employees to call off strike
Ahmednagar: Government employees are likely to call off their token strike scheduled on August 11 following an assurance by Finance Minister Mahadeo Shivankar that the recommendations of the fifth pay commission would be applied to them with retrospective effect from January 1, 1996. Disclosing this, Maharashtra State Government Employees8217; Federation joint secretary Yogiraj Khonde said: 8220;A federation delegation comprising general secretary R.G. Karnik, executive president G.R. Shete and other office-bearers met the minister and discussed the demands.

He said the minister also agreed to remove the lacunae in the fourth pay commission report after taking into account the report of the Sukthankar Committee. The decision to call off the strike would be taken by the executive committee on August 2, he said.

SMC octroi structure
Solapur: In a bid to augment its revenues, the Solapur Municipal Corporation SMC recently resolved to revise its octroi structure by levying the cess on the cost of the goods instead of weight.

The revision is expected to add about Rs 4.25 crore annually to the civic kitty. The decision, when ratified, may increase the octroi cess applicable to certain goods by 300 per cent of current rates. The SMC will invite suggestions and objections from citizens on the move and citizens would be given a hearing before the proposal goes to the general body for final approval. The proposal, then, will require a sanction from the State Government.