7th CPC recommended 14.27 % hike in basic pay for CG Employees, which is the lowest in 70 years!
7th Pay Commission: Government employees’ wait for allowances may end soon after Cabinet meet
The Empowered Committee of Secretaries has reportedly capped House Rent Allowance (HRA) rates at 25-27 per cent. It is, however, for the Union cabinet to take a final call on allowances.
For nearly 50 lakh Central government employees, the long wait for allowances could end soon as the Narendra Modi-led cabinet is believed to have met on Wednesday to discuss and decide on the revised allowance structure.
After screening the Ashok Lavasa report on allowances, the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) has forwarded the report along with its suggestions to the government.
According to some reports, the E-CoS has capped House Rent Allowance (HRA) rates at 25-27 per cent. It is, however, for the Union cabinet to take a final call on allowances, including the HRA.
The Seventh Pay Commission recommended a 14.27 per cent hike in basic pay for Central government employees, which is the lowest in 70 years.
It remains to be seen if the Central government can bring some cheer to its employees who have been waiting for over a year to get revised allowances under the Seventh Pay Commission.
HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ALLOWANCES UNDER SEVENTH PAY COMMISSION:
1. The Seventh Pay Commission recommended doing away with 53 of the 196 allowances that Central government employees get besides subsuming 36 allowances into bigger ones.
2. The pay commission also recommended reducing the HRA rates for Central government employees depending on their type of cities. For metros, the Seventh Pay Commission suggested bringing the HRA down from 30 per cent to 24 per cent.
3. Such recommendations by the pay commission were met with strong opposition from Central government employees. The Narendra Modi government constituted a panel under Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa to review the recommendations.
4. The Committee on Allowances under Ashok Lavasa was initially given a four-month deadline to submit its report which was later extended to February 22 this year. The Ashok Lavasa panel, however, finally submitted its report to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on April 27.
5. After submitting the report to Arun Jaitley, Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa said the Committee on Allowances has taken into account the representations made by various stakeholders.
6. On April 28, a statement was issued by the Finance Ministry on Lavasa panel’s report submission. It said that “modifications have been suggested in some allowances which are applicable universally to all Central government employees as well as certain other allowances which apply to specific employee categories”.
7. The specific employee categories identified by the Lavasa committee include railwaymen, doctors, scientists, defence personnel, doctors and nurses, the Finance Ministry statement said.
8. The Ashok Lavasa report was first reviewed by the Department of Expenditure and then placed before the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS).
9. Before the E-CoS meeting on June 1, representatives of Central government employees wrote to Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha and expresseed disappointment over the long delay in implementation of allowances. Central government employees also told Cabinet Secretary that they were not informed about the recommendations made by Ashok Lavasa committee in its report.
10. As the Union cabinet met on Wednesday, Central government employees will hope that the Centre considers their demands before taking a final decision. If the pay commission recommendations on allowances are implemented fully, then the estimated cost to the exchequer will be around Rs 29,300 crore.
Source : indiatoday