7th Pay Commission: The report is being examined by the Department of
Expenditure, and will be subsequently placed before the Empowered
Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS).
New Delhi, May 5: The long-pending issue of higher allowances under the
7th Pay Commission won't be taken up by the Union Cabinet anytime soon
as the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) may take 2-3 weeks to
screen the Committee on Allowances' report. Finance Secretary Ashok
Lavasa led Committee on Allowances, which examined the 7th Pay
Commission recommendations on allowances, submitted its report to the
finance ministry on April 27. The report is being examined by the
Department of Expenditure, and will be subsequently placed before the
Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS).
According to a report, the Empowered Committee of Secretaries will
examine the Committee on Allowances report on higher allowances under
the 7th Pay Commission after it gets cleared by Department of
Expenditure. The Empowered Committee of Secretaries could take 2-3 weeks
to screen the Committee on Allowances' report and will then firm up the
proposal for approval of the Cabinet. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday
notified the pending implementation of revised pay hike for armed forces
under the 7th Pay Commission, but didn't review the Lavasa panel
report.
The National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) chief Shiv Gopal Mishra held
a meeting with Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha and urged the timely
implementation of the Committee on Allowances report on higher
allowances under the 7th Pay Commission. P K Sinha heads the Empowered
Committee of Secretaries. Mishra also reiterated the demand on arrears
on higher allowances. He (PK Sinha) said our concerns would be
considered. It may take time. We told him how long should the employees
wait? They have been waiting now for more than 10 months, the NJCA chief
told India.com when asked about Sinha s response to the demands raised
by union.
The central government employees have been waiting for fatter allowance
since July when the government issued the notification for the
implementation of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations. While the
government has provided arrears since January 1, 2016, the scheduled
date of 7th Pay Commission s implementation, NJCA has demanded a similar
release of arrears on allowances as well. The 7th Pay Commission had
suggested the abolition of 52 out of the 196 existing allowances, apart
from subsuming 36 smaller allowances. The 7CPC panel led by Justice
(retd) A K Mathur had also reduced the house rent allowance (HRA) from
existing 10, 20 and 30 per cent to 8, 24 and 16 respectively.
