7th Pay Commission – Committee on allowances to submit its report soon

New Delhi: A panel to examine the suggestions of the 7th Pay Commission on allowances is likely to submit its report within 10-15 days.The report is being finalised and will be submitted to the Finance Minister in the next 10-15 days, sources said.

The government on July 22 constituted a committee comprising Finance Secretary as Chairman and Secretaries of Home Affairs, Defence, Health and Family Welfare, Personnel & Training, Posts and Chairman, Railway Board as Members to examine the 7th Pay Commission recommendations on allowances, other than dearness allowance.

Once the report is submitted, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will take a call on the implementation of the allowances, sources added.

Last year, the Justice A K Mathur pay panel had recommended abolition of 51 allowances and subsuming 37 others.

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 a committee to look into the provision of allowances under the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, when the Cabinet cleared the recommendations of the Pay Commission in respect of the hike in basic pay and pension on June 29.

“The committee has been asked to submit its report within four months. Its two meetings were held on August 4 and September 1 respectively. The recommendations of the committee would have to be submitted to the Finance Minister within 10-15 days. After assessment, this would be submitted to the Cabinet,” sources said.

At the second meeting on allowances, Shiv Gopal Mishra, Secretary (Staff Side) said, “Let us believe that, after the meeting, report of the said committee would be sent to the Government of India for its acceptance.”

Last month, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said in Rajya Sabha, “As far as allowances are concerned, 51 have been abolished while 37 have been subsumed. As the measures are radical in nature, even the employees’ unions have given their suggestions in the matter and therefore a special committee has been formed to look into it. Whatever the committee decides, it will go to the Cabinet.”

The government behemoth has to bear an additional burden of burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore on account of implementation of the 7th Pay Commission awards.

The matters relating to pay and pension as decided by the government have been implemented with effect from January 1 this year.

Besides the basic salary, a large portion of central government employees’ salary is the allowances, which are likely to be settled within 15 days.

However, central government employees and pensioners got their revised basic pay and pension under 7th Pay Commission recommendations on August 31 along with the arrears for last seven months from the period of January to July.