7th Pay Commission: High-level committee likely to finalise views on HRA at next meeting

New Delhi, March 29: A high-level committee headed by Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa, which is examining allowances under the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission, is likely to finalise its views on House rent allowance (HRA) in its next meeting, according to Press Trust of India. The 7th Pay Commission recommends reducing the House Rent Allowance (HRA) to 24 per cent of basic pay as against the 30 per cent of basic pay that employees were drawing under the 6th Pay Commission.

The 7th Pay Commission had also recommended that HRA be revised to 27 per cent, 18 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively when DA crosses 50 per cent, and is further revised to 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent when DA crosses 100 per cent.

Meanwhile, the report says that the committee will finalise its report on 7th Pay Commission recommendations on payment of allowances to 47 lakh government employees only after receiving comments from ministries on treatment of over a dozen such benefits. The panel at its meeting on Tuesday sought comments from the Ministries of Defence, Railways and posts on treatment of 14 allowances.

The report quotes sources as saying that at least 14 allowances had not been factored previously and the concerned ministries have been asked to give their views on what is to be done with them. These include accidental allowance, outstation detention allowance, trip allowance, and ghat allowance. The panel will finalise its report after it gets comments and one more meeting of the committee is likely to be held for doing so, says the report.