By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, July 23, 2016 : The Odisha government on Saturday hiked the basic pay of Block Grant College teachers and staff by 25 per cent effective from May 31 this year.

Announcing this decision, higher education minister Dr Pradeep Panigrahi said that the employees of 488 and 662 Category colleges would benefit from the announcement.

They will receive the revised salary with effect from June 1 this year. Besides, there will be a 3 per cent hike in the salary every year.

Around 15, 000 Category college staff are expected to reap the benefit from the decision.

Apart from Block Grant College staff, lecturers of Shastri and Upashastri Colleges will also benefit from the government decision, Panigrahi said.

The government also decided to replace Block Grant system with Grant-In-Aid policy of 1994.

Last month, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had accorded an in-principal approval to the proposal to hike the salaries of Block Grant College teachers following the recommendation of the inter-ministerial committee headed by finance minister Pradip Amat.

It may be recollected that the Block Grant teachers of 662 and 488 categories had boycotted the answer paper evaluation works leading to a logjam. This had forced the state government to promise them a revision in their salary ending the stir.