7th Pay Commission: No hike in transport allowance, HRA to remain at 30 per cent

The Committee on Allowances, headed by Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa, agreed with the Seventh Pay Commission's recommendations on transport allowance.

A week after the Committee on Allowances submitted its recommendations to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, reports suggest that there will no hike in transport allowance for government employees.

The Committee on Allowances, headed by Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa, agreed with the Seventh Pay Commission's recommendations on transport allowance.

In other words, Central government employees will continue to draw the transport allowance (TPTA) they were getting under the Sixth Pay Commission.

HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW:

1. The Seventh Pay Commission had already factored in the rate of Dearness Allowance at 125 per cent assuming the date of implementation to be January 1 next year. The existing transport allowance already meets the criteria and therefore remains unchanged.
2. The House Rent Allowance (HRA), which forms a sizeable amount of the salary drawn by a government employee, is also expected to remain unchanged--at 30 per cent of basic pay in metros.
3. The Committee on Allowances under Ashok Lavasa is believed to have suggested that the amount drawn under the Sixth Pay Commission should be left unchanged.
4. The Seventh Pay Commission had recommended reducing the HRA from 30 per cent to 24 per cent, a suggestion that was widely protested by government employees.
5. The pay commission also recommended abolishing 53 of the 196 allowances besides subsuming some others.
6. 1. With the election season about to get over by March 11, the government is expected to make an announcement on implementation of revised allowances.
   2. Nearly 50 lakh government employees will benefit from the revision in allowances once the recommendations are implemented.