7th Pay Commission: Higher allowances dropped from today’s cabinet meeting agenda

7th Pay Commission: Higher allowances dropped from today’s cabinet meeting agenda

New Delhi: The Union government has dropped higher allowances proposal under the 7th Pay Commission from its today’s cabinet meeting agenda at the last minute, the Finance Ministry officials involved with the process of higher allowances told The Sen Times on condition of anonymity.

The officials said recommendation of the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha on higher allowances, was due to come before the Union cabinet at its meeting today for formal approval.

However, the item was dropped from the agenda at the last minute, as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is on an official visit to South Korea, they added.

However, they said that the Cabinet may decide on 7th pay commission allowances this month.

In June 2016, the Cabinet approved 14% pay and pension hike for central government employees and pensioners under the 7th Pay Commission recommendations with effect from January 1, 2016.

The decision on higher allowances was postponed by the Cabinet on that time because the 7th Pay Commission wanted abolition of 52 allowances and subsuming of another 36 allowances into larger existing ones out of total 196 allowances.

Employee unions were opposed it, which government complied with formation of the Committee on Allowances headed by Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa in June 2016 to review the allowances.

The Committee on Allowances submitted its report to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on April 27.

The report was then taken up by the Department of Expenditure for examination, following which it was passed on to the Empowered Committee of Secretaries set up to screen the 7th Pay Commission recommendations and to firm up the proposal for approval of the Cabinet.

The Empowered Committee of Secretaries was in the process of preparing the Cabinet note on higher allowances, which was completed on June 1.

The central government employees are now getting no new allowances (except Dearness Allowance) with their new pay structure till the cabinet nod.