7th Pay Commission: Higher Allowances To Get Cabinet Nod Next Wednesday

New Delhi: The higher allowances under 7th Pay Commission recommendations for 4.8 million central government employees and 5.2 million pensioners will be placed in the next Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, June 7, a Finance Ministry official involved with the process told The Sen Times on condition of anonymity. 

 

‘Committee on Allowances’ submitted its report to finance minister Arun Jaitley on April 27.

The Empowered Committee of Secretaries, headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha, which was formed in January to review 7th Pay Commission’s pay and allowances, is likely to prepare the report on higher allowances on June 1 for cabinet nod.

Media reports said Empowered Committee of Secretaries is likely to go for ditto the report of the committee on allowances in this regard.

However, the Committee’s report on allowances under the 7th Pay Commission hasn’t made public.

The official also said that the quantum of allowances may not vary from those proposed by the 7th Pay Commission as the committee on allowances stuck with the 7th Pay Commission’s recommendations on allowances.

In late June, after implementing the 7th Pay Commission proposals on salary and pension, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced the ‘Committee on Allowances’, headed by Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa to examine the suggestions on allowances.

It had time till October to give the report but this got delayed.

The decision on allowances was postponed because the 7th Pay Commission wanted abolition of 52 allowances and subsuming of another 36 allowances into larger existing ones out of total 196 allowances. Employee unions were opposed.

The 7th Pay Commission also recommended slashing the House Rent Allowance (HRA) from 30, 20 and 10 per cent to 24, 16 and 8 percent of the Basic Pay for Class X, Y and Z cities respectively.

The ‘Committee on Allowances’ submitted its report to finance minister Arun Jaitley on April 27. It is now examined by the Empowered Committee of Secretaries.

The central government employees’ unions demanded the government to implement higher allowances without further delay with effect from January 1, 2016.

They also demanded HRA at the rate of 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 percent of basic pay instead of 24, 16 and 8 percent.

SOURCE: TST