THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The tenth Pay Revision Commission has recommended a 25-30 percent increase in the salary of five lakh-plus government employees and a proportionate increase in the emoluments of 4.3 lakh pensioners. Besides, it has also recommended generous increases in house rent allowance and city compensatory allowance.
The additional financial outgo as a result of the revision, including pension benefits, is estimated to be Rs 5277 crore. The 10th PRC also wanted the revised rates to be made applicable from July 1, 2014.
Considering the huge liability, the Commission has made three controversial recommendations: One, pay revision should be carried out only every 10 years; two, push the pension age to 58 from 56; and three, Leave Travel Concession (LTC) should be made available to employees only if they are willing to sacrifice their leave encashment.
Post-revision, the minimum pay will be Rs 17,000 (Rs 15,300 is the existing minimum) and the maximum will go up to Rs 1.2 lakh from Rs 1.08 lakh. Significantly, the revised scale brings down the disparity ratio.
The disparity ratio (DR) between the maximum of the lowest scale and the maximum of the highest scale has been brought down to 3.36, from 4.53.
The DR between the maximum of the lowest scale to the minimum of the highest scale has come down to 2.72 from 3.68.
The 10th PRC has also recommended that a service of 25 years is enough to make an employee eligible for a full pension, as opposed to the prevailing 30 years.
The revised minimum pension will be Rs 8,500, up from Rs 4,500, and the maximum has been raised to Rs 60,000 (up from Rs 29,920.
The minimum increase in salary, including the HRA, will be Rs 2,750 and the maximum will be Rs 12,000.
“There should be no compromise on performance and integrity,” said Justice C N Ramachandran, the chairman of the 10th PRC.
He said that promotion, especially to senior posts starting with District Officers and above in the line Departments and Under Secretaries and above in the Secretariat, had to be made strictly based on integrity and performance.
