Jammu and Kashmir first state to approve implementation of 7th Pay Commission; five lakh employees to benefit

Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday approved implementation of the seventh pay commission recommendations for its employees and pensioners with effect from January 2016.There will be over 20 percent hike in salaries of employees due to revised pay scales that are coming into effect from April.The decision was taken by the state cabinet meeting in Jammu on Tuesday under Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. The cabinet approved implementation of the 7th pay commission recommendations for state government employees and pensioners, Finance Minister Syed Altaf Ahmed Bukhari told reporters in Jammu on Tuesday.[caption id="attachment_4349431" align="alignleft" width="380"]

File image of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. PTI[/caption]The decision would benefit around five lakh employees and pensioners in the state, he said.The financial implications of implementation of the 7th pay commission recommendations would be Rs 4,201 crore annually while one-time arrears would cost Rs 7,477 crore top the exchequer, Bukhari said.The state government employees can now draw the salary for the month of April 2018 as per the revised scales, he said.For the purpose of implementation of the 7th Pay Commission Recommendations, basic pay as on 31 December, 2015, of employees shall be multiplied by uniform factor of 2.57 and then adjusted in the matrix recommended by the Pay Committee.The benefit of House Rent Allowance on revised pay shall be available from April, 2018 and all allowances except Dearness Allowance (DA) shall continue as before while DA from January, 2016 onwards shall be paid on revised pay on new rates to be notified by Finance Department, he added.According to the decision, gratuity shall be enhanced from the existing ceiling of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh with effect from January 1, 2016, with increase in the ceiling on gratuity by 25 percent whenever DA rises by 50 percent as recommended by 7th CPC/ as per Central Government pattern.The pensioners shall be given option to choose revision of pension by any of the two formulations suggested by the Pay Committee.Arrears of pensioners shall be paid in cash in three six monthly instalments while arrears of all employees shall be drawn and credited to their GP Fund accounts with moratorium of 3 years for withdrawal of same, minister said.However, there will be no moratorium for withdrawal in case of employees retiring up to 31 March, 2021. The implementation of 7th pay commission recommendations for PSUs and autonomous organisations will depend on the availability of resources with the respective organisations, he added.Regarding pay anomalies, the cabinet decided that the existing Pay Committee shall look into and address the issue of anomalies starting with the issue of anomalies of the Clerical Cadre, he added. The cabinet also approved a slew of administrative reforms to streamline the functioning at various levels in the government.