If media reports are to be believed, the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) is likely table its report on higher allowances under the 7th Pay Commission before the Union cabinet on June 1.
New Delhi, May 30: Central government employees, who have been waiting
for higher allowances under the 7th Pay Commission since July last year,
may receive some good news on June 1. If media reports are to be
believed, the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) is likely table
its report on higher allowances under the 7th Pay Commission before the
Union cabinet on June 1. The Empowered Committee is in last stages of
finalising draft on Committee on Allowances’ report on higher
allowances, including house rent allowance (HRA), under the 7th Pay
Commission. However, there is no clarity whether the government will
agree to pay arrears on higher allowances.
The Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) is likely to meet the
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on June 1, where they would submit
their recommendations about Committee on Allowances’ report on higher
allowances under the 7th Pay Commission. National Joint Council Chief
Shiv Gopal Mishra had been given assurance by the Cabinet Secretary P K
Sinha who heads the E-CoS that all demands demands of the central
government employees would be considered.
On June 1, the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) will hold a
key meet in which the final draft on higher allowances and HRA under the
7th Pay Commission will be discussed along with other proposals and
demands. However, the NJCA convenor is not sure whether their demands
about arrears on higher allowances under the 7th Pay Commission will be
accepted by the E-CoS. Earlier, a Sen Times report said the E-CoS may
stick to the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission on higher
allowances.
The 7th Pay Commission, led by Justice (retd) A K Mathur, suggested the
abolition of 52 out of the 196 existing allowances, apart from subsuming
36 smaller allowances. The decision was widely opposed by the central
government employees, after which Arun Jaitley had formed the Committee
on Allowances to look into anomalies. The Committee on Allowances, which
examined the 7th Pay Commission recommendations on allowances,
submitted its report to the finance ministry on April 27.
