Uttar Pradesh Government Doubles up House Rent Allowance For Over 15 Lakh State Employees, Proposes 4% Reservation Quota to Divyangs

The decision was taken during the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday.

Lucknow, Jul 18: The Uttar Pradesh government has proposed 4 per cent reservation quota to divyangs, dependents of freedom fighters and martyrs in the jobs of State Public Service Commission. The decision was taken during the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday.

Parliament passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Bill and enacted it as a law in 2016, increasing the quota of reservation for persons with benchmark disabilities from three per cent to four per cent in government jobs and from three per cent to five per cent in higher educational institutions.

On the other hand, the Adityanath-government has also decided to double the House Rent Allowance (HRA) and City Compensatory Allowance (CCA) for the state employees. The hike, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2019, is expected to benefit 15 lakh employees. The beneficiaries would include 5.5 lakh government teachers.

“The double HRA will be effective from July 1 and employees will get it in this month’s salary,” an official spokesman was quoted as saying in a PTI report.

The double hike in HRA would put an extra burden of Rs 2,223 crore on the State Exchequer, whereas the two times increase in CCA would cost Rs 175 crore.

In another welcome move, the state cabinet also gave a nod to lower the education qualification for the recruitment of firemen in fire services in a bid to create more jobs for rural 12th pass youth.