While the legally mandated Ramadan allowance had been included in the salary for Civil Service employees for the month of May, they had received almost the same amount as any other month. 

State offices had calculated this month’s salary from the 15th of April to the 10th of May, while it is procedurally calculated from and to the 15th of every month. 

An official from the state-operated Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital said that he had received the same amount as last month, while the Ramadan allowance is allocated specifically because household expenditures during the month are customarily high. 

“It would have been possible to juggle expenses during Ramadan had we received an additional MVR 3,000 but what we got is the same as any month. The difference is, we will have to spend considerably more” the official said. 

The five days omitted from the salary calculation will be added to next month’s salary, the official had reportedly been told.

The Civil Service Commission has not been avaialable to answer queries on the matter at the time of press.