Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has directed officials to ensure that government employees receive their November salaries before Diwali, after delays were found in processing payments across around half a dozen departments, including education, health, rural development, home, and revenue and land reforms.
The chief minister issued the direction on Friday, saying the state government was committed to paying employees before the Diwali festival. He also authorised officials to keep government offices open on Saturday, November 7, if required to complete the process.
The directive followed an emergency review meeting conducted by Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit with district magistrates through videoconferencing, according to a government communique. The review focused on the delay in salary payments and the steps required to complete disbursal before Diwali and Chhath.
Amrit asked officials to make additional efforts to process the pending salaries and directed drawing and disbursing officers to ensure that payments were made on time. District magistrates were also instructed to take the necessary steps in their respective areas.
The review found that several departments had not processed salaries within the expected timeframe. The departments identified in the government communication included education, health, rural development, home, and revenue and land reforms. Together, these departments cover a large part of the state’s administrative and public-service workforce, although the communique did not specify the number of employees affected or the total value of pending payments.
The chief secretary warned the departments concerned and called for improvements in their work culture. “The work culture should be better and extra efforts should be made for its improvement,” Amrit said, reiterating the chief minister’s instruction on salary payments.
The episode places responsibility for completing the payment process on multiple levels of Bihar’s administrative system. Drawing and disbursing officers are responsible for processing payments, while district magistrates have been asked to coordinate corrective action locally. The chief secretary’s review indicates that the delay was not limited to a single department or district.
For government employees, the timing of the directive is significant because the administration has linked the payment deadline to Diwali and the subsequent Chhath festival. The government has not stated whether all pending salaries have been released or identified a revised completion time beyond the instruction to finish payments before the festivals.
Officials are expected to use the additional working day, where necessary, to complete salary processing. The immediate administrative milestone is the release of November salaries before Diwali, followed by action to prevent similar delays ahead of Chhath.
