EMPOWERED COMMITTEE ON 7TH CPC WILL SOON START ITS ANALYZING REPORT

New Delhi: Government’s high-level Empowered Committee of Secretaries headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha, set up to address issues related to the Seventh Pay Commission report, will soon analyse the pay panel report that is expected to suggest ways to further improve ease of implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations.

As part of efforts to address concerns expressed about pay and allowances aspects of central government employees in respect of the Seventh Pay Commission report, the government had set up the high-level Empowered Committee of Secretaries in this month.

Government set up a high-powered panel headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha to process the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission.

Finance Ministry sources said the Empowered Committee of Secretaries on the pay commission would provide government its report within six months and it would come into effect accordingly.

“The Empowered Committee will seek suggestions from all the stakeholders for drafting of their report on the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations to address the concerns of central government employees in an effective manner,” they said.

“The report will be made after studying the suggestions carefully and the suggestions like hike minimum pay and to reject Pay Commission’s recommendation for abolition of some allowances and advances, may be accepted,” the sources confirmed.

The Seventh pay commission recommended the minimum pay Rs 18,000, its increased the pay gap between the minimum and maximum from existing 1:12 to 1: 13.8. The Pay Commission also recommended for abolition of allowances and advances like risk allowance, small family allowance, festival advance, motor cycle advance. The focus of Empowered Committee will on “curbing unwanted expenses to save government money as well as facilitating growth of central government employees,” they added.

As per the terms of reference, the Empowered Committee would make recommendations to the government on issues arising from the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations.

However, the government has not yet nominated any Empowered Committee of Secretaries members except its chairman Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha.

It is to note that Modi government wants to move Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to Defence Ministry after the budget, both factors will also take time for implementation of Seventh Pay Commission recommendations. 

Sources of Finance Ministry said after Empowered Committee processing, the ministerial committee would discuss the Seventh Pay Commission award and then it would be placed in the cabinet for nod.

So about Six months will be required to complete the process, They said. “The government have already announced that the Pay Commission award will be effective from January. However, the central government employees will get the benefit of Allowances like HRA, TA from the date of implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations.”

The Seventh Pay Commission, led by Justice A K Mathur, submitted the report to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on November 19, last year. The Empowered Committee will bring slight changes to the Seventh Pay Commission recommendation within the government’s expenditure Rs 1.02 lakh crore in 2016, the finance ministry officials said.