Rs 4,800 cr approved as pay allowances to UT staff: Govt

Tribune News Service

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New Delhi, December 10

The government today said it approved an amount of Rs 4,800 crore for 4.5 lakh employees of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir for certain allowances under the 7th Pay Commission. Informing this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home, G Kishan Reddy said the Centre was fully committed to the overall development of the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir, which included giving certain 7th Pay Commission allowances like children education allowance, hostel allowance, transport allowance, LTC, fixed medical allowance to employees, who were not eligible earlier.

The Centre has now approved an estimated sum of Rs 4,800 crore, for all such employees, who are now working in J&K and Ladakh, since October 31, the day these two UTs came into existence, the minister said.

Reddy also informed that after the creation of the two UTs, a total of Rs 14,559.25 crore being given to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir had been apportioned among the two new UTs. Out of this, Rs 2,977.31 crore has already been released to Jammu and Kashmir and Rs 1,275.99 crore to Ladakh so far, the minister said in the written reply.

The minister also informed that under the Centrally sponsored scheme, the Centre had approved establishment of eight medical colleges in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions. These medical colleges, which are under various stages of implementation, will come up in the districts of Doda, Kathua, Baramulla, Anantnag, Rajouri, Udhampur, Handwara (District Kupwara) in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir and the district of Leh in the UT of Ladakh, he said, adding that the government has also approved creation of two AIIMS-like institutions in Jammu and Srinagar.