The Panvel City Municipal Corporation has approved a three-tier bonus for 1,358 employees, with payouts ranging from Rs 10,000 for grassroots-level workers to Rs 35,000 for officers, widening debate over how civic staff should be rewarded.
The PCMC general body approved the bonus proposal unanimously on Friday. The three slabs are Rs 10,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 35,000. The middle slab applies specifically to teachers, while the highest payment is meant for officers. Health, livelihood and housing-scheme workers are included in the lowest category.
The proposal was moved by PCMC house leader and advocate Prakash Binedar. The bonus relates to 2025-26 and marks the first such decision by the elected body after four years during which the municipal commissioner, acting as administrator, took the decision.
The approved payout covers three officers on deputation, 817 staff members on the corporation’s rolls, 66 primary teachers, two National Urban Livelihood Mission officers and 14 employees receiving monthly remuneration. It also includes 219 National Urban Health Mission workers and 235 ASHA workers, among other staff.
The corporation said the decision would encourage employees to improve their performance. The higher payout is an increase over last year’s amount, according to the report. However, the slab-based structure has also led to dissatisfaction among sections of the workforce because of the large difference between the officer and worker categories.
The arrangement differs from the policy adopted by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, which has announced a uniform bonus rather than maintaining a traditional distinction based on official position. The comparison places the PCMC decision within a wider debate over whether municipal bonuses should reflect rank, role or a more equal treatment of the civic workforce.
Pramod Langi, Raigad unit president of the Maharashtra State Municipal Council and Municipal Corporation Teachers Association, said the state government does not provide bonuses to teachers and that employees had approached PCMC’s political leadership several years ago. He described the decision as welcome, adding that the bonus for officers had risen from about 20% of the amount paid to them to 35% this year.
The approved beneficiaries include employees working in public health, urban livelihoods, housing schemes and other civic functions that support day-to-day municipal services. The corporation’s next step is to implement the approved 2025-26 bonus across the eligible employee categories.
