Speculation is rife that the high-level panel headed by finance secretary Ashok Lavasa to study the 7th Central Pay Commission's (CPC) recommendations on raising allowances of Central government employees could submit its report this week, as early as today (Thursday).
The committee was formed last June by the Narendra Modi government to examine the recommendations by the pay panel on abolishing certain allowances, merging some with other benefits and raising major ones such as house rent allowance (HRA).
The CPC examined 196 existing allowances after which it recommended abolition of 51 and subsuming 37 others with the existing ones.
On HRA, the pay panel had said, "...the Commission recommends that HRA should be rationalised to 24 percent, 16 percent and 8 percent of the Basic Pay for Class X, Y and Z cities respectively."
"The Commission also recommends that the rate of HRA will be revised to 27 percent, 18 percent and 9 percent when DA crosses 50 percent, and further revised to 30 percent, 20 percent and 10 percent when DA crosses 100 percent," it added.
A city or town with a population of less than 5 lakh is categorised as "Z", while the threshold is 5 to less than 50 lakh for "Y". Cities with a population of 50 lakh or above are classified as "X".
Employees have demanded a hike of 30 percent, 20 percent and 10 percent, respectively, as against the CPC's recommendations.
If the HRA is hiked in accordance with the CPC's recommendations, the additional financial implication on the government exchequer will be Rs 17,200 crore.
The Ashok Lavasa committee is reportedly waiting for finance minister Arun Jaitley to return from his visit to the US and Russia for submitting its findings. Jaitley, who also holds the defence portfolio, was in Moscow on Wednesday to participate at the 6th Moscow Conference on International Security.
For certain categories of railway employees, the allowances would go up sharply if the recommendations are accepted in toto.
In its voluminous report, the CPC has recommended that those employed as controllers, whose role is key to train operations, including events such as breakdown or accidents, should get a special allowance of Rs 5,000 per month, apart from proportionate increase based on dearness allowance.
The recommendations of the CPC cover about 47 lakh Central government employees and 53 lakh pensioners.
