Gujarat to pay Rs 3.2k cr 7th pay commission arrears from March

The deputy chief minister and finance minister of Gujarat Nitin Patel on Thursday announced that government employees and pensioners would get arrears accruing from the 7th pay commission implementation from March.

The deputy CM made the announcement in Gujarat assembly through a motion of matter of public importance. The government will pay the ammount in three instalments; a total of Rs 3,279 crore will be spent after this.

The deputy CM said, “As the 7th CPC was implemented retrospectively, the employees and pensioners are eligible to get arrears. The amount of the arrears will be paid to employees and pensioners from March month onwards and it will be paid in three installments on alternative months.

“The Gujarat government had taken in principle decision in the cabinet meeting held on August 16, 2016 to give benefits of 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) to its employees and pensioners. The employees started receiving benefits of 7th CPC from August 1, 2016 in their salaries and pensioners got the same from October 01, 2016. Since the CPC was implemented with the retrospective effect of January 01, 2016, government ought to pay the difference of the pay to employees and pensioners,” Patel added.

As per the announcement, government employees including in panchayat institutions will get arrears of seven months that aggregate to Rs 2,258.34 crore, while pensioners will get nine months’ dues worth Rs 1,021.45 crore.

The government will have to pay Rs 3,279.79 crore to its employees and pensioners. The benefits will reach 4.65 lakh employees and 4.12 lakh pensioners of the Gujarat government.