Empowered Committee may take 2-3 weeks to screen Committee on Allowances' report

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.