7th Pay Commission: Employee forum pins hope in status quo on House Rent Allowance (HRA)

"The most important thing for employees at this moment is HRA. We hope the government would retain what was recommended by 5th and 6th Pay Commissions," NJCA convenor Shiv Gopal Mishra said.

New Delhi, June 10: The recommendation of 7th Pay Commission in relation to House Rent Allowance (HRA) remain a cause of worry for central government employees. The Commission has recommended the reduction in HRA from 10, 20 and 30 per cent (for class X, Y and Z cities) to 8, 16 and 24 per cent respectively. The 7th pay panel has further proposed to increase HRA to 9, 18 and 27 per cent when Dearness Allowance (DA) crosses 50 per cent of basic pay.

The leading employee forum – National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) – pins hope in maintenance of status quo in relation to HRA, by retainment of the recommendations which were approved by 5th and 6th Pay Commissions.

“The most important thing for employees at this moment is HRA. We hope the government would retain what was recommended by 5th and 6th Pay Commissions. Considering the inflation in cities, the employees deserve the house rent allowance of at least 10, 20 and 30 per cent,” NJCA convenor Shiv Gopal Mishra told India.com on Friday.

The anomalies raised by NJCA in relation to HRA, along with other allowances, were considered by the high-level committee under Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa. The panel submitted its report in April. After being screened by the Empowered Committee of Secretaries, the report was handed over to Union Cabinet in first week of June.

“We expect the allowance report to be approved in any of the meetings within this month. It is most likely that higher allowances would be implemented from July,” Mishra said.

Expressing disgust over the unprecedented delay caused, the union leader added, “Why can’t things be implemented in a timely manner? The employees have been waiting for more than 11 months now. They have been agitated. I hope the government would finally implement the higher allowances.”

On being asked whether arrears on allowances (from January 1, 2016) would be provided, Mishra replied, “No confirmation has been made in this regard.”