Overview
- At a 16th Finance Commission event, Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao said the wage and pension outgo has quadrupled from roughly Rs 1,500–1,600 crore in 2014 to about Rs 6,000 crore now.
- Pay in power utilities stands out, with chief engineers earning up to Rs 7 lakh a month and some long‑serving Class‑4 staff such as sweepers around Rs 2 lakh due to more frequent four‑year revisions.
- Entry‑level municipal employees earn about Rs 28,000, while a small share of regularised GHMC sanitation workers average roughly Rs 70,000 with benefits.
- Provisional data for 2025–26 submitted to the CAG show Rs 55,575 crore spent on salaries and pensions through January, accounting for about 21.09% of revenue expenditure.
- Rao said roughly 11% GSDP growth and stronger revenues have helped meet the payroll, as officials also flag fiscal consolidation and off‑budget borrowing risks ahead of the state budget session.