7th Pay Commission: Allowance Committee Seeks Views On 14 Benefits

The allowance committee headed by Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa, which is examining 7th pay commission recommendations on allowances, has sought views from ministries on 14 benefits, Press Trust of India reported. The allowance committee held a meeting on Tuesday with different stakeholders. These allowances include accidental allowance, outstation detention allowance, trip allowance, and ghat allowance. The ministries include defence, railways and posts on treatment of 14 allowances. The allowance committee is likely to finalise its views on HRA or house rent allowance at its next meeting, the report said, citing sources.

The Seventh Pay Commission had recommended that HRA be paid at the rate of 24 per cent, 16 per cent and 8 per cent of the new basic pay, depending on type of cities. 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, respectively when DA crosses 50 per cent, and further revised to 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent when DA crosses 100 per cent.

The Lavasa Committee was constituted in June last year after the government implemented the recommendation of the 7th pay commission. Out of a total of 196 allowances, it had recommended abolition of 53 and subsuming of another 36 into larger existing ones.

Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal on March 24 had again clarified that the allowance committee related to 7th pay commission is yet to submit its report. The minister added that the allowance committee is now in the process of finalising its report. The minister also explained why the allowance committee has taken more time to finalise its report. The allowance committee related to 7th pay commission awards "has taken more time than was initially prescribed in view of large number of demands received," he clarified.

"The committee has received a large number of demands on allowances and even now receives demands in this regards. All the demands have been diligently examined," the minister said.

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