Mumbai, March 31: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday announced that the state government would not cut salaries of employees. Uddhav Thackeray further added that to tackle the economic crisis erupted due to coronavirus, the state government would give salaries to its employees in installments. Coronavirus Outbreak in Telangana: KCR Announces Pay Cut For Government Employees to Combat COVID-19 Menace.

After the Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Monday announced a major salary cut for government employees, speculations were rife that Shiv Sena-led government in Maharashtra could also make such announcement. Maharashtra is one of the worst affected states in the coronavirus pandemic. The total number of COVID-19 cases rose to 225 in the state. Coronavirus Cases Jump to 1251 in India as Country Sees Largest Spike in a Day With 227 New Cases in 24 Hoursl

Uddhav Thackeray's Statement:

Earlier in the day, the Maharashtra government also issued the order to deduct the salaries of all elected representatives, including Chief Minister and all MLAs-MLCs, and their salaries are cut by 60 percent for the month of March. Some reports had also claimed that the state adminstration would also cut 25-50 percent salaries of of government staff for the month of March and the amount would be diverted to COVID-19 fund.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 announced a countrywide lockdown for 21 days. The Centre and state governments assured that there would be no shortage of essential commodities during the shutdown till April 14. Meanwhile, 1,251 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in India so far. The death toll also rose to 43 in the country.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 31, 2020 08:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).