7th Pay Commission: Higher HRA in next week's Cabinet meet says union leader

Nearly 50 lakh central government employees could get revised allowances

The Union Cabinet will take up the proposals on the 7th Pay Commission next week. Central government employees would get higher HRA when the Cabinet takes up the matter according to Shiv Gopal Mishra, the convenor of National Joint Council of Action (NJCA).

This would be good news for the central government employees as the HRA accounts for a bulk of the allowances. The Cabinet had not taken up the matter on Wednesday as the Finance Minister was abroad and no agenda was set.

Nearly 50 lakh central government employees could get revised allowances under 7th pay commission award, including HRA or house rent allowance, from July.

Sources say that the Cabinet will complete the procedure this month itself. There is anger among the employees who have waited for 11 months for updates.

The Lavasa committee suggested some modifications in some allowances that are applicable universally to all employees as well as certain other allowances which apply to specific employee categories, the finance ministry had said in a statement. Economists say that disbursement of 7th pay commission allowances is expected to give a further boost to consumer spending and thus the broader economy.

The 7th pay commission had recommended that house rent allowance be paid at the rate of 24 per cent, 16 per cent and 8 per cent of the new basic pay, depending on the type of city. 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 when DA or dearness allowance crosses 50 per cent, and further revised to 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent when it crosses 100 per cent. With regard to allowances, employee unions have demanded HRA at the rate of 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent.

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