Bhayandar: The Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) is under lens for doling out excessive payments amounting to lakhs of rupees to its officials on the virtue of promotions, albeit skipping the applicable pay-scales.
The matter came to light after five junior engineers sought a hike in their pay scales and grades at par with that awarded to their nine counterparts in the civic body under the garb of Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme (MACPS).
With an assured promotion at the end of 12- and 24-year service, the MACPS envisages merely a placement in the immediate next higher grade pay in the hierarchy of the recommended revised pay bands and grade pay.
According to MBMC sources, the illegitimate payouts were not limited to just a dozen junior engineers, promoted as deputies due to the absence of the sectional engineer’s post at that time, but the anomalies are prevailing in hierarchy from top to bottom of the ladder in the MBMC.
While juniors are being targeted, it is alleged, a section of high-ranked officials who had been drawing payouts in disproportion to their actual wages on the virtue of temporary positions like in-charge (prabhari) of departments had been left scot free.
“Our financial wing and audit experts are examining minute details of grade and scale fixation, in accordance with the pay commission guidelines. The issue will be resolved soon and we will ensure there is no disparity between cadres at any level,” Balaji Khatgaonkar, the civic chief, said.
Eligible employees move to the next pay level in the pay matrix. Even as the pay of eligible employees in the revised structure is mandated to be fixed with reference to the higher grade pay granted to the post, casual employees, including those granted temporary status and employees appointed on a contract basis are not qualified for benefits of financial upgradations under the MACP scheme.
