Disbursal of salaries and pensions under the new structure will begin from July 1. This move will benefit over 5 lakh serving and retired employees.
The Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, on Friday, decided to implement a majority of the recommendations of its Sixth Pay Commission with effect from January 1, 2016, a move that will benefit over five lakh serving and retired employees. The disbursal of salaries and pensions under the new structure will begin from July 1.
The state government's decision has come months before Punjab goes to the Assembly polls next year.
Move to benefit over 5.4 lakh employees
"The move will benefit over 5.4 lakh serving and retired state government employees," the statement said after the cabinet under the chairmanship of Amarinder Singh decided to accept the majority of the recommendations of the Pay Commission.
With this decision, taken at the state cabinet meeting, the government said it has fulfilled another major promise to the people, despite the precarious financial health of the state.
Increase in salary
The implementation will entail 2.59 times increase in salaries and pensions over the previous Pay Commission recommendations, with an annual increment rate of three percent, resulting in pay scales of all existing employees continuing to be higher than in neighbouring Haryana.
As a result of the decision, the minimum pay for a government employee would increase from Rs 6,950 per month to Rs 18,000 per month.
The minimum pension will go up from Rs 3,500 to Rs 9,000 per month, and the minimum family pension would also increase to Rs 9,000 per month under the revised structure, an official spokesperson said after a Cabinet meeting that gave the approval for implementation of the Sixth Punjab Pay Commission recommendations.
6th Pay Commission new structure
Under the new structure, a divorced or widowed daughter shall be eligible for family pension, and the eligibility criteria of income for family pension has been enhanced from Rs 3,500 plus dearness allowance (DA) to Rs 9,000 plus DA per month.
The government has also accepted restoration of the commutation of pension to 40 per cent with effect from July 1, 2021.
Death-cum-retirement gratuity (DCRG) has been enhanced from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh and the existing rates of ex-gratia have been doubled.
Both the DCRG and ex-gratia have been extended to employees covered under the New Pension Scheme.
The expected amount of net arrears from January 1, 2016 to June 30, 2021 is approximately Rs 13,800 crore.
The Punjab government employees have already been getting five per cent interim enhancement since 2017.
The net arrears amount of employees and pensioners for 2016, estimated at Rs 2,572 crore, shall be paid in two equal installments in October 2021 and January 2022.
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