There is a good news for the 7th Pay Commission employees of the Central Government! After increasing the Dearness Allowance (DA) to 31 percent from July 1, now the Central Government is considering increasing the House Rent Allowance (HRA) of the employees after receiving requests from lakhs of employees.
The decision to release DA dues pending for 18 months has not been announced yet but is expected to happen soon. Hence, if the DA arrears are released along with the increase in HRA, it will lead to an overall increase in the salaries of the employees. For increase in HRA, requests were made by Indian Railway Technical Supervisors Association (IRTSA) and National Federation of Railwaymen (NFIR).
Both the organizations are bound to increase the HRA from January 1. For those who are not aware, HRA is a very important part of the salary of government employees. As of now, the central government provides HRA to the employees as per the city in which they are posted.
The government has divided the cities into three categories – X, Y, and Z. If the hike in HRA is approved then X category cities can get Rs 5400 more, Y can expect a hike of Rs 3600 per month, and Z can expect an increase of Rs 1800 per month. Similarly, the salary will increase annually by 5400 * 12 = Rs 64,800 .
Cities having population more than 50 lakhs are covered under HRA of 27.5 value of X category basic pay. Meanwhile, in categories Y and Z cities, employees receive HRA of 18% and 9% of their basic pay, respectively.
