7th pay commission recommends HRA payment at 24%, 16% and 8% of new basic pay (Representational image)
The Empowered Committee of Secretaries has finalised 7th pay
commission-related allowances (including HRA or house rent allowance)
proposals for consideration of the Union Cabinet, a senior employee
union leader told NDTV, citing sources. The Cabinet did not take up the
7th pay commission allowances in today's meeting as it was not part of
the agenda, sources told NDTV. The union leader expects the Cabinet to
take up the matter soon. The Empowered Committee of Secretaries met on
June 1 to screen the report on 7th pay commission allowances (including
HRA) to prepare proposals for consideration by the government, the union
leader said.The Ashok Lavasa committee, which examined the 7th pay commission's
recommendations on allowances, submitted its report to the finance
minister on April 27. The committee was headed by Finance Secretary
Ashok Lavasa and had Secretaries of Home Affairs, Defence, Health &
Family Welfare, Personnel & Training, and Post, and Chairman,
Railway Board, as Members, and Joint Secretary (Implementation Cell) as
Member Secretary.
The Lavasa committee has suggested some modifications in some allowances
that are applicable universally to all employees as well as certain
other allowances which apply to specific employee categories, the
finance ministry said in a statement. The ministry said that an
Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) will screen the allowance
committee report on 7th pay commission recommendations. The empowered
committee will then firm up the proposal for approval of the Cabinet.
The 7th pay commission had recommended that house rent allowance be paid
at the rate of 24 per cent, 16 per cent and 8 per cent of the new basic
pay, depending on the type of city. 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 when DA or dearness allowance crosses 50 per cent, and
further revised to 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent when it
crosses 100 per cent. With regard to allowances, employee unions have
demanded HRA at the rate of 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent.
The 7th pay commission had recommended that of a total of 196
allowances, 52 be abolished altogether and 36 be abolished as separate
identities by subsuming them in another allowance.
The Cabinet had earlier approved modification in recommendations of the
7th pay commission relating to the method of revision of pension of
pre-2016 pensioners and family pensioners based on recommendations of a
high-level panel. The decision will benefit over 55 lakh pre-2016 civil
and defence pensioners and family pensioners.
