In a major decision, the state cabinet approved the implementation of 7th pay commission recommendations for state government employees and pensioners with effect from January 2016.

The decision was taken during a cabinet meet convened by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

The decision would benefit around five lakh employees and pensioners in the state.

The financial implications for the implementations of 7thpay commission recommendations would be Rs 4201 crore annually while financial implications on account of one-time arrears would be Rs 7477 crores.

The State government employees can now draw the salary for the month of April 2018 as per the revised scales.

According to the decision, for the purpose of implementation of 7th Pay Commission recommendations, basic pay as on 31.12.2015 of employees shall be multiplied by uniform factor of 2.57 and then adjusted in the matrix recommended by the Pay Committee.

The benefit of House Rent Allowance on revised pay shall be available from April, 2018 and all allowances except Dearness Allowance (DA) shall continue as before while DA from January, 2016 onwards shall be paid on revised pay on new rates to be notified by Finance Department.

According to the decision, Gratuity shall be enhanced from the existing ceiling of ?10.00 lakh to ?20.00 lakh with effect from 01.01.2016, with increase in the ceiling on gratuity by 25 percent whenever DA rises by 50 percent as recommended by 7th CPC/ as per Central Government pattern.

The pensioners shall be given option to choose revision of pension by any of the two formulations suggested by the Pay Committee.

Arrears of pensioners shall be paid in cash in three six monthly instalments while arrears of all employees shall be drawn and credited to their G.P Fund accounts with moratorium of 3 years for withdrawal of same. However, there will be no moratorium for withdrawal in case of employees retiring upto 31.03.2021.

The implementation of 7th pay commission recommendations for PSUs and autonomous organizations will depend on the availability of resources with the respective organizations.