New Delhi, Mar 31: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had constituted the Committee on Allowances under Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa to look into the provision of higher allowances other than dearness allowance under the 7th Pay Commission in June last year. It’s been almost nine months since the formation of the Committee on Allowances, but the report on higher allowances under the 7th Pay Commission has been submitted yet. The delay in release of higher allowances under the 7th Pay Commission has made central government employees worried.
About 47 lakh Central government employees and 53 lakh pensioners have been waiting for higher allowances under the 7th Pay Commission since July last year. During their last meeting with the Committee on Allowances, central government employees unions sought an early finalisation of the report on higher allowances under the 7th Pay Commission. The Committee on Allowances will hold another meeting with the representatives of the central government employees to finalise the issues of the house rent allowance (HRA).

A union leader, speaking to the Sen Times, said the delay in release of higher allowances under the 7th Pay Commission has affected the daily life of central government employees and pensioners, adding that the government promised that it will implement soon the higher allowances under 7th Pay Commission recommendations, with retrospective effect from August 2016. “We were promised in August, 2016 that the higher allowances (as per the 7th Pay Commission) would be given to us within four months, but we haven’t got its till now,” the leader was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, the Lavasa panel has sought comments from the ministries of defence, railways and posts on treatment of 14 allowances under the 7th Pay Commission. The high-level committee is expected to finalise its report on payment of allowances to 47 lakh government employees after receiving comments from ministries. The government has given higher basic pay with arrears, effective from January 1, 2016 in August 2016 to its employees on the recommendations of the 7th pay commission but had referred hike in allowances to the Committee on Allowances.
The 7th Pay Commission had recommended abolition of 51 allowances and subsuming of 37 others out of 196 allowances. The central government employees took serious objection over the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission about higher allowances, after which the Committee on Allowances was formed.