AP puts bill payment on hold to pay salaries to employees

Hyderabad, Nov 27: Andhra Pradesh government is said to have put on hold all payments of bills for at least three days in order to clear salaries to employees. The state government is on the brink of an overdraft once again and it needs at least Rs 2,700 crore to pay staff salaries, sources said. The central government is expected to release Rs 2,100 crore to AP on December 1 as part of its share of taxes, sources said. The centre earlier released Rs 700 crore. AP needs an additional Rs 600 crore to pay salaries. Therefore, the government is reported to have stopped all payments, sources said.