Bengaluru,  Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai called upon the state government employees to work one hour extra every day.

Speaking after being felicitated by a delegation of Karnataka State Government Employees Association President C.S. Shadakshari for constituting the 7th pay commission to revise the pay-scale of government employees here on Thursday, he said working one more extra hour daily must percolate to the grassroots level.

"Rest you will leave it to me. Let us make this state prosper. You all must work with honesty, dedication and loyalty. Karnataka will progress if you work for the poor."

All of us must strive hard to build Nava Bharat through Nava Karnataka. Out of the proposed five trillion dollar economy of India, the contribution of Karnataka must be one trillion dollars. Ours is the first government which has constituted the pay commission just after the completion of five years, he said.

He said inflation is increasing from year by year and the difference is bound to be there at the time of joining the government service and the current situation. Time and money are important. Earning at the right time, the right money will inspire life, and for this reason the government took this decision.

The Chief Minister stated his predecessor B.S.Yediyurappa wanted to do this following pressure from the association president Shadakshari. The commission chairman, Dr Sudhakar Rao, is an honest officer and worked without getting influenced by anyone.

All of them are expecting a proper report from the former chief secretary. The cooperation of the employees is also important. "Our government will again come to power in 2023 and we will only implement the 7th pay commission report," he said.

Bommai complimented the government employees especially health, police, rural development and revenue for working tirelessly during Covid-19 pandemic.

"When I took charge as the Chief Minister, there was a revenue deficit of Rs 5,000 crore but the officials of various departments worked hard and filled the treasury. In the current financial year, an additional Rs 13,000 crore has been collected," he said.

As head of the state, it was his responsibility to identify the services of the employees. In the wake of this, it was decided to fulfil their demands. Within 24 hours after the Government of India hiked DA for the Central government employees, the state government also announced the hike and issued orders on the same day, he explained.