BANGALORE: The State Cabinet has accepted the recommendations of a high-level committee pertaining to payment of bonus to insured employees of the State Government. This is expected to benefit nearly 6.4 lakh of them.

Briefing presspersons on the discussions at the Cabinet meeting here on Thursday, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Basavaraj Horatti said that bonus would be paid to all those who had an insurance cover provided by the Karnataka Government Insurance Department (KGID). All government employees are covered by the KGID, and the insurance scheme is valid soon after an employee is confirmed. While the employee pays a part of the premium, the Government makes a contribution similar to that made under the Employees Provident Fund Scheme.

The Cabinet had approved a bonus payment of Rs. 68 for every Rs. 1,000 of insurance policy until March 31, 2004, and Rs. 65 for every thousand for that subscribed thereafter.

Although the expenditure was yet to be fully calculated, the financial burden on the Government was expected to be high, he said.

Power situation

Karnataka is said to be contemplating on purchasing electricity from Kerala to tide over the problem of power shortage that is expected to peak in March and April.

Government sources told The Hindu here on Thursday that the Cabinet had discussed the power situation, the likely shortfall during summer and the ways to overcome it.

The likely power shortage in the State until the onset of the southwest monsoon has been estimated at around 300 million units.

Mr. Horatti said a high-level committee of Ministers had been constituted under the chairmanship of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy to take a decision on the ways to tide over the power crisis.

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