New Delhi: Hundreds of thousands of central government employees, waiting anxiously for the update on allowances as recommended by the 7th Pay Commission might heave a sigh of relief on Thursday.
As per media reports, the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) will screen the suggestions of the Ashok Lavasa committee report before they send it to the Cabinet for approval.
The Cabinet secretary had earlier set the deadline to look into the report on the allowances committee for June 1 adding that the update might be announced soon.
A Business Today report further said that once the E-CoS deliberate on discussions, it will consolidate the report and table it before the Union Cabinet latest by Friday (June 2).
The Lavasa Committee on April 28 suggested modifications in some allowances applicable universally to all employees and also for those in specific categories, including railways and defence, after examining the 7th Pay Commission recommendations.
In the month of April, the Union Cabinet approved important proposals relating to modifications in the 7th CPC (Central Pay Commission) recommendations on pay and pensionary benefits in the course of their implementation.
The benefit of the proposed modifications will be available with effect from 1st January, 2016, i.e., the date of implementation of 7th CPC recommendations. With the increase approved by the Cabinet, the annual pension bill alone of the Central Government is likely to be Rs 1,76,071 crore.
There are about 47 lakh central government employees.
While recommendations of the CPC on pay and pension were implemented with the approval of the Cabinet, allowances continued to be paid at old rates.
The CPC had recommended that of a total of 196 allowances, 52 be abolished altogether and 36 be abolished as separate identities by subsuming them in another allowance.
