The pay hike as per the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations, it is hoped, will help stem the exodus from the Left-backed unions in government offices. Over the last six months, a large number of union supporters left the ruling camp to join the Trinamool and Congress-backed organisations, say sources in the State Coordination Committee.

But the costs can be high and it is to be borne by the state exchequer.

Finance minister Asim Dasgupta has said the extra bill is yet to be calculated. But already, government is paying around Rs 15,000 crore per year for salary. The figure is 80 per cent of the budgetary allocation under head of “wage and means”, said sources in the finance department.

Ananta Banerjee, secretary of the coordination committee, said: “The government has accepted our proposals on pay hike. Obviously, this will help us.”

Ever since the Trinamool-backed protests began in Nandigram and Singur, a section of employees at Writers’ Buildings joined hands with the TMC-backed Employees Federation. The erosion was evident when the Opposition successfully observed a strike on December 22 without any resistance from the coordination committee.

On Friday, the union leaders were busy explaining the pay commission recommendations. But no one knew how the finance department plans to balance the deficit. “The Centre will have to bear 50 per cent of the increased bill,” said Banerjee.

Already, the government is going deeper in debt to meet its rising pension bill as the finance minister has announced similar benefits for 3.5 lakh retired employees. The state’s pension expenditure grew by 62 per cent to reach Rs 3,642 crore in 2005-06.

In its report for 2005-06, the Comptroller & Auditor General of India pointed out that with the number of retirees increasing, pension liabilities will rise. “The state government has not constituted any funds to meet the rising pension liabilities,” the CAG had pointed out. Salaries alone accounted for 43 per cent of the revenue receipts,” the report noted.

The CAG has also criticised the government for not taking steps to reform in the existing pension scheme as recommended by the 12th Finance Commission. It was recommended that the state follow a recruitment and wage policy that would keep the total salary bill with 35 per cent of the revenue expenditure.