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7th Pay Commission: Cabinet May Clear Up Allowances Bottleneck Today

7th Pay Commission: Cabinet May Clear Up Allowances Bottleneck Today : NDTV News

The Ashok Lavasa committee on allowances, which examined the 7th pay commission's recommendations on allowances, submitted its report to the finance ministry on April 27.

With the allowance report already submitted to the finance minister, all eyes are on when it will be taken up by the Cabinet. Employee union leaders are scheduled to meet top government officials today, an union leader told NDTV, adding that they are likely to enquire about the progress on the allowance report. Officials from the finance ministry are also likely to be also present at the meeting, he added. The Ashok Lavasa committee on allowances, which examined the 7th pay commission's recommendations on allowances, submitted its report to the finance ministry on April 27. The allowance committee suggested some modifications in some allowances which are applicable universally to all employees as well as certain other allowances which apply to specific employee categories such as railwaymen, postal employees, scientists, defence forces personnel, doctors, nurses etc, the finance ministry said in a statement.

The allowance committee report is being currently examined by the Department of Expenditure. It will be placed before the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) set up to screen the 7th pay commission recommendations and to firm up the proposal for approval of the Cabinet. While recommendations of the 7th pay commission on pay and pension were implemented with the approval of the Cabinet, allowances continued to be paid at old rates.

The 7th pay commission had recommended that house rent allowance or HRA be paid at the rate of 24 per cent, 16 per cent and 8 per cent of the new basic pay, depending on the type of city. The 7th pay commission had also recommended that the rate of HRA be revised to 27 per cent, 18 per cent and 9 per cent when DA crosses 50 per cent, and further revised to 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent when DA crosses 100 per cent. With regard to allowances, employee unions have demanded HRA at the rate of 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent.