7th Pay Commission: In yet another instance of good news coming the way of government employees, a state government has taken the decision to implement the panel's report and thereby give a big boost to salaries prevalent there. Mizoram Finance Minister Lalsawta today informed the state legislature that the state government intended to implement the seventh pay commission during 2018-2019. Replying to questions from five members, Lalsawta said that the government had been waiting for the recommendation of a committee to study the 7th pay commission which was yet to submit its report and its recommendations. The four-member committee, constituted on November 13 last year, is headed by the state Planning Board Vice chairman H Liansailova and was instructed to submit its report within six months. Lalsawta said the state government would incur additional expenditure of Rs 563.24 crore if and when the 7th pay commission recommendation was implemented. 
 
At the central government level, it may be noted that recently, Minister of State for Finance Pon Radhakrishnan told the Rajya Sabha that the government was not considering hike in pay based on a higher fitment factor - 3.00 times or higher. The employees unions, which are very vocal on their demands and even threatened to start an agitation, expressed dissatisfaction.
 
Radhakrishnan’s statement on the 7th pay commission hike has created a new problem for the union leaders who have been trying to pressurise the government for higher pay. Finance Ministry Arun Jaitley, who had made some promises in July, 2016 in the Upper House for pay hike beyond the suggestion of the 7th Pay Commission, has so far not reacted over the implementation of the pay hike. 
  
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Radhakrishnan had said, “The minimum pay of Rs 18,000 per month and fitment factor of 2.57 are based on the specific recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission in the light of the relevant factors taken into account by it. Therefore, no change therein is at present under consideration.” 
 
The MoS for Finance was replying to a question by Samajwadi Party lawmaker Neeraj Shekhar in which he asked, “whether Government is actively contemplating to increase minimum pay from Rs 18,000 to Rs 21,000 and fitment factor from 2.57 to 3, in view of resentment among Central Government employees over historically lowest increase in pay by 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC).”
 
Recently, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan also announced the formation of a committee to propose revision in the pay structure and allowances of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats employees in consonance with the 7th Pay Commission report, which did not make recommendations about these employees. 

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Murli Manohar Joshi, estimates committee chairperson, will head the six-member panel. The other members of the panel are Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, Public Accounts Committee Chairperson Mallikarjun Kharge, Standing Committee on Finance Chairperson M Veerappa Moily and Ram Gopal Yadav, the Speaker told the Lok Sabha.

 

(With Agency Inputs)