A crucial meeting of
the allowance committee examining the 7th pay commission recommendations is
being held today and the committee may finailise its views on HRA or house
rent allowance, a top employee union official said.
Earlier, a Press Trust
of India report had also said that the HRA part could be finalised by the
allowance committee today. Last month, employee representatives had met the
Cabinet Secretary, seeking early finalisation of allowances related to 7th pay
commission.
At its previous
meeting on March 28, the allowance committee had sought comments from the
ministries of defence, railways and posts on treatment of 14 allowances.
On HRA, the 7th pay
commission had recommended that it be paid at the rate of 24 per cent, 16 per
cent and 8 per cent of the new basic pay, depending on type of cities. 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, respectively 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 (house
rent allowance) at the rate of 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent.
The government had in
June accepted the recommendation of Justice AK Mathur-headed 7th pay commission
in respect of the hike in basic pay and pension. But the 7th pay commission’s
recommendations relating to allowances were referred to the Ashok Lavasa
committee. The 7th pay commission had examined a total of 196 existing
allowances and recommended abolition of 51 allowances and subsuming of 37
allowances.
Minister of State for
Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal on March 24 clarified that the allowance committee is
now in the process of finalising its report. The minister also explained why
the allowance committee has taken more time to finalise its report. The
allowance committee related to 7th pay commission awards “has taken more time
than was initially prescribed in view of large number of demands received,” he
clarified.
Source: PTI feeds
