7th Pay Commission: Central Government employees to get higher allowance with arrears from January 1, 2016, says report

Out of a total of 196 allowances, it had recommended the abolition of 53 and subsuming of another 36 into larger existing ones..

New Delhi, April 3: Almost 10 months have been passed after the Union Government accepted recommendations under the 7th Pay Commission but the decision on minimum wage and higher allowances have not reached to final conclusion. But for 47 lakh central government employees it seems that the wait is finally over as the government has decided to pay their hiked allowances with arrears from January 1, 2016, The Sen Times reported.

A source from finance ministry officials, quoted by The Sen Times, on Monday said that the Central government employees will get their higher allowances with retrospective effect from January 1, 2016.

The National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) convenor Shiv Gopal Mishra had put some demands in front of Cabinet Secretary on March 28. In which the NJCA who represented Central Government employees demanded to increase “minimum wage from Rs 16,000 to Rs 25,000 per month” and to pay “higher allowance with effect from January 1, 2016”. The Sen Times claims to have spoken to a senior official from Finance Ministry.

The panel, which was asked to examine the 7th Pay Commission recommendation for abolition of 53 allowances out of a total of 196 and subsuming another 36 into larger existing ones, at its meeting today sought comments from the ministries of defence, railways and posts on treatment of 14 allowances.

People familiar with the matter said these 14 allowances had not been factored in previously and the concerned ministries have been asked to give their views on what is to be done with them.

These allowances include accidental allowance, outstation detention allowance, trip allowance, and ghat allowance. The panel will finalise its report after it gets the comments, they said, adding one more meeting of the committee is likely for doing so.

The government is keen to give out the revised allowances from the fiscal year beginning 1April but will take a call on payment of arrears in case the rollout is delayed, they said.

The Lavasa Committee was constituted in June last year after the government implemented the recommendation of the 7th Pay Commission. The Pay Commission had recommended abolition of or subsuming of allowances like acting, assisting cashier, cycle, condiment, flying squad, haircutting, rajbhasha, rajdhani, robe, shoe, shorthand, soap, spectacle, uniform, vigilance and washing.

Out of a total of 196 allowances, it had recommended the abolition of 53 and subsuming of another 36 into larger existing ones.

People familiar with the matter said the committee in its next meeting will also finalise its views on the pay commission recommendation of reducing the house rent allowance (HRA) to 24% of basic pay as against the 30% of basic pay employees were drawing under the Sixth Pay Commission.

(With inputs from PTI)