The Union Cabinet today approved
upgradation of 29 cities and towns on the basis of 2011 population
census for providing higher house and transportation allowance to
central government employees.
The revised classification of cities
would be effective from April 1, 2014 and cost the exchequer
approximately Rs 128 crore for 2014-15.
"The Cabinet has approved
reclassification / upgradation of certain cities/towns on the basis of
Census 2011 for the purpose of granting House Rent Allowance (HRA) and
Transport Allowance to central government employees," Communications and
IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters here.
One the basis of the census, 2 cities -
Pune and Ahmedabad - have been upgraded to 'X' class from 'Y' and 21
cities to 'Y' from 'Z' for the purpose of HRA, an official statement
read.
These 21 cities are Nellore,
Gurgaon, Bokaro Steel City, Gulbarga, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kannur,
Kollam, Ujjain, Vasai-Virar City, Malegaon, Nanded-Waghala, Sangli,
Rourkela, Ajmer, Erode, Noida, Firozabad, Jhansi, Siliguri and Durgapur.
That apart, six - Patna, Kochi, Indore,
Coimbatore and Ghaziabad - have been advanced to 'Specified Higher
Class' from 'Other Places' for the purpose of transport allowance, the
statement said.
So far, the Census 2001 has been used
for deciding the HRA and transport allowance of central government
officials posted in these towns and cities.
The existing qualifying threshold of
population for HRA classification is 50 lakh and above for X, 5-50 lakh
for Y and below 5 lakh for Z class cities.The employees are entitled for
HRA of 30%, 20% and 10% respectively for X, Y and Z class cities
Transportation allowance is payable at
'higher rates' in 13 specified cities classified earlier as 'A-1' and
'A' (those with a population of 20 lakh and above) and 'lower rates' for
the rest.
The cities and towns are classified as
X, Y and Z for the purpose of HRA and 13 specified cities classified as
A-1, A and Other Places for transportation allowance.
