Govt staff to get revised HRA from August 1, says Khattar

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 20

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today announced to give House Rent Allowance (HRA) to state government employees according to the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission and also provide ex-gratia policy options to them. He made the announcements while addressing a press conference here.

Earlier, he held a meeting with the representatives of employees and trade unions, namely the Haryana Karamchari Mahasangh, Sarva Karamchari Sangh, Rajya Karamchari Sangh and the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh.

Khattar said that the revised HRA would be implemented with effect from August 1, 2019, benefiting about 3.50 lakh employees. The decision would put an additional expenditure of Rs 1,900 crore on the state exchequer.

The CM also announced to revive the ex-gratia policy that was discontinued in 1996. He said that the new policy would be implemented with effect from August 1. “A deceased employee, whose age was 52 years or less or had completed more than five years of service before, will be covered under the scheme. The dependents of the deceased employees will be given two options — salary of the remaining period of service or a government job of Group C or D category for that period, as per the qualification, provided that none of the family member should be in government service,” he added.

He said that the facility of six months of maternity leave would also be given to women employees who are engaged under the outsourcing policy Part I of the state government. The government would bear the financial burden on the contractor on account of this facility.

The CM announced cashless medical facility for all indoor diseases instead of seven diseases earlier. He announced that all safai karamcharis working in urban and rural areas of the state would also get the benefit of risk insurance of Rs 10 lakh and the government would pay the premium.

“The employees of other departments, who are engaged in risky work, namely firemen, linemen, assistant linemen, sewer men and boiler attendants, would also be covered under this insurance policy,” he added

Khattar said that a decision had also been taken to reopen the channel of promotion for the employees of Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies in the central cooperative banks. A committee had been constituted under the chairmanship of the Additional Chief Secretary, Finance, to remove the pay anomalies of tubewell operators of the Public Health Engineering Department working on a contractual basis.

While referring to various pro-employee decisions taken by the government so far, the Chief Minister said that Haryana was the first state to give the benefits of the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission to its employees, among others.

Asked about any possibility of giving the pay scales to Haryana Government employees on the pattern of the Punjab Government, Khattar said that Haryana is way ahead of its neighbouring state in terms of many financial parameters.

Other key decisions by govt

• The ex-gratia policy was discontinued in 1996 to be revived
• Six months of maternity leave for women employees engaged under the outsourcing policy Part I of the state government
• Cashless medical facility for all indoor diseases
• ll safai karamcharis working in urban and rural areas of the state to get the benefit of risk insurance of Rs 10 lakh 

CM downplays meeting with INLD leaders

Asked if INLD leaders Ashok Arora and Rampal Majra had met him recently, the Chief Minister said that leaders from all political parties keep meeting him in connection with work. “I recently met Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh also,” he said, trying to downplay the meeting with the INLD leaders.