Finance
Secretary Ashok Lavasa
The committee on allowances, which
is looking into allowances, which was recommended by 7th Pay Commission, will
soon submit its report, Union finance secretary Ashok Lavasa said during an
interview.
“A committee headed by me is
currently examining the Pay Commission’s recommendations on allowances and it
will submit its report soon,” Lavasa said in the exclusive interview with The
Economic Times.
The government constituted the
committee in June, comprising finance secretary as Chairman and secretaries of Home
Affairs, Defence, Health and Family Welfare, Personnel and Training, Posts and
Chairman, Railway Board as Members to examine the 7th Pay Commission
recommendations on allowances, other than dearness allowance.
- The committee has been asked to submit its report within four months but it’s ready to submit its report even two months in advance.
- Once the report is submitted, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will take a call on hike in allowances, the sources in finance ministry said.
- Last year, the pay commission headed by Justice A K Mathur had recommended abolition of 51 allowances and subsuming 37 others after examining 196 allowances.
The representatives of the employees
unions had earlier conveyed to the government that they did not want it to
approve the 7th Pay Commission recommendations on allowances without examining
them further. So, the Union Cabinet directed to set up committee on allowances.
The matters relating to pay and
pension as decided by the government have been implemented with effect from
January 1 this year. The government has also paid its employees arrears of
basic pay arising from implementation of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations
in one go in August salaries without higher allowances.
- “Till a final decision of allowances, all existing Allowances will continue to be paid at the existing rate,” an earlier official statement issued by the finance ministry said.
- The sources said that the quantum of allowances may not vary from those proposed by the 7th Pay Commission.
- “The committee on allowances is likely to stick with the 7th Pay Commission’s recommendations on allowances,” the sources added.
Last year, the finance ministry set
up an ‘Implementation Cell’ to give effect to the recommendations of the 7th
Pay Commission which are eventually accepted by the government.
“So far as the implementation of the
7th Pay Commission report is concerned, an implementation cell was created
under this ministry about a year ago and it is still continuing,” the finance
secretary also said in the interview.
The recommendations of the 7th Pay
Commission are applicable to 48 lakh central government employees and 52 lakh
pensioners.
