Extension of travelling by Air on Leave Travel Concession, the announcement, which Central Government employees were eagerly waiting for, is finally here!
Air travel concession, under the Leave Travel Concession scheme, to places like Jammu and Kashmir, North Eastern Region (NER), and also Andaman and Nicobar Islands has been extended by two more years.
For a while it was assumed that the newly crowned Modi Government had shelved this scheme.
We believe that the scheme was revived due to constant reminders from various employee unions, associations and federations.
Twice every four years, Central Government employees are given fare concessions to travel to their home town. Instead of two trips to home town, the employee is eligible to convert one of them as ALL INDIA LTC concession. Depending on their designation, the employees are eligible to utilize air, ship, rail and road transportation facilities, along with the travel class
The Government has been spending crores of Rupees to usher in development in economically-backward areas like Jammu and Kashmir, NER. As part of its various development schemes, the Government is trying to encourage tourism to these areas. The air travel concession, which is being offered for six years now, is part of this attempt. Awareness of this concession has increased only in the past two years and Central Government employees had only recently started utilizing the option. Under the scheme, Central Government employees can travel to these regions, with their families, by air, and reimburse the air tickets. For further information, please read the official notification. (Click here to view the Dopt Notification)
Although there are certain minor drawbacks, such concessions enjoy immense popularity. This time, there is a minor change – Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been added to the list of destinations. The announcement is a boon for the Central Government employees who didn’t utilize this opportunity in the previous round, and travel via air with their entire family.
