By IANS,
Panaji : Goa government employees, waiting for a one-time bonus announced to them Dec 19 last year, have again been hit by the election code of conduct jinx.
The Rs.5,000 bonus for the C and D grade staff, announced by the then chief minister Digambar Kamat on the 50th anniversary of Goa’s liberation from Portuguese rule, will have to wait because of a by-poll May 2 in the Cortalim assembly constituency in South Goa.
“The one-time bonus cannot be given out because the election code of conduct is in force,” Chief Electoral Officer S. Kumaraswamy told reporters here Wednesday.
The bonus could not be disbursed earlier also since the code of conduct was in force for the assembly elections in March.
In the elections, Kamat lost and the new chief minister, Manohar Parrikar, in his budget speech said a provision of Rs.23 crore had been made for the bonus payout.
However, the payout was put on hold again after the election code of conduct was announced following the declaration of by-poll in Cortalim assembly constituency, 20 km from here, in view of the death of tourism minister Mathany Saldanha last month.