7th pay commission: Good news for these officials as now their salaries are equal to top notch govt staff

The government has given good news to a certain section of employees as their salary had been hiked according to the recommendations of the seventh pay commission. The salary of the Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories has been increased and made on a par with the emoluments of secretaries of the central government.

The decision has been taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. 

The Union Cabinet has given its nod for the revision of salary and allowances of Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories and it will be on a par with that of the secretary to the government of India, an official statement said.

The proposal for increasing the pay and allowances of LGs with effect from January 1, 2016 from Rs 80,000 per month plus dearness allowance, sumptuary allowance at the rate of Rs 4,000 per month and local allowances to Rs 2,25,000 plus dearness allowance, sumptuary allowance at the rate of Rs 4,000 per month and local allowances at the same rate as applicable to the officers of the rank of secretary to the central government.

It will be subject to the condition that the total emoluments (excluding sumptuary allowance and local allowances) shall not exceed the total emoluments drawn by the Governor of a state, the statement said.

The decision came two months after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced in his 2018-19 Budget that emoluments of the President would be revised to Rs 5 lakh, Rs 4 lakh for the vice president and to Rs 3.5 lakh per month for the governors.

The President was getting Rs 1.50 lakh per month, the Vice President Rs 1.25 lakh and a governor Rs 1.10 lakh. After the implementation of the 7th Pay Commissions awards on 1 January 2016, the cabinet secretary, who is the top-most bureaucrat in the country, gets Rs 2.5 lakh per month and a secretary in the Union government draws Rs 2.25 lakh per month.

There are seven UTs in the country -- Delhi, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicober Islands, Laskhadweep, Chandigarh, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu. However, only Delhi, Puducherry and Andaman and Nicober Islands have LGs Laskhadweep, Dadar and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu have administrators while Chandigarh is governed by the Punjab Governor. 

Meanwhile, it has also been reported that the NDA government may soon make revision in annual salaries and allowances of central government employees. 

According to Sen Times report, the government is mulling over increasing the salaries of the central government employees before the 2019 General elections in a bid to get their support. 

Not only this, the report also claims that following the footsteps of the Madhya Pradesh government, the Centre is also likely to increase the retirement age of the central government employees from 60 to 62 years.

“Taking a leaf from Chouhan ahead of general elections next year, The BJP-led central government is mulling to implement the pay hike for central government employees,” a senior government official told the Sen Times.