Pay Commission: Rlys to meet Rs 31000 Cr requirement through own means

New Delhi, Jul 1: The implementation of 7th Pay commission recommendations will lead to an additional burden of Rs 31,000 crore on railways and it would try to meet the requirement through own means, a top official said today.

The official, however, did not rule out the possibility of approaching the Finance Ministry, if need arises. Officials said the railway authorities held a meeting with representatives of employees' unions over issues related to the pay hike and hoped that there would be no disruption of services.

Railway and other central government employees have decided to go on strike from July 11 against the pay commission recommendations approved by the government on Wednesday. "(Seventh) Pay Commission has been accepted recently and there are lots of queries as to how railways is going to fund.

Our internal calculation is that the burden on railways will be around Rs 31,000 crore," the official said, adding the requirement was a little more than the commission's estimate of Rs 28,000 crore. Giving a break-up, he said around Rs 12,000 crore will be on account of wages, Rs 8,000 crore on account of pensions and the balance on account of various allowances. It will lead to deterioration in railways' operating ratio, the official said.

"Last year, we ended with around 90 per cent... This will deteriorate to 92 per cent. Railways will try to see whether it is able to raise the resources on our own. We have not so far approached the Ministry of Finance. If necessary, we will approach them for some assistance," he added.

Asked whether the prospect of a strike by railway workers was worrying them, the official said that there are two recognised unions and their leadership is quite mature. "We are talking to them, we have had a few rounds of discussions already with them and we hope to find a solution. At this moment, I can only say that," he said.

The official also said that the railways is introducing a Customer Commitment Charter which will specify time-bound delivery of service. For instance, it would not take more than five minutes to procure a ticket at a station.

PTI