DA hike: West Bengal govt to launch website for 7th pay commission — Check top updates here

DA hike: West Bengal has on Monday decided to launch a dedicated website for its 7th pay commission, PTI reported citing a senior state government official. The commission will post proceedings and official information on the portal, it added.

The Bengal government also clarified that it has not made any recommendations to the panel on allowances, pay and pension, the official said.

West Bengal to launch 7th pay commission website — Top updates

• According to the official, decision to launch a dedicated website for the 7th pay commission was made at the panel's first meeting at Nabanna, the West Bengal state government's secretariat.

• This comes days after the panel notified its terms of reference (ToR) and the website is expected to be launched “shortly”.
• It will display official announcements, notifications, updates on the 7th pay commission's work, invitations for stakeholder data and suggestions, facilitation of submissions of memoranda from employees, pensioners and representatives, the official added.
• He further said that the panel has warned government employees, pensioners and other stakeholders about documents and misleading social media posts and clarified that no recommendations have yet been made.

• “The decision to create a separate website was aimed at ensuring that all information relating to the commission was available from a single, authorised source. The Commission is at an initial stage of its work and has not made any recommendation so far. The website will help ensure that only authenticated information reaches employees and other stakeholders,” he told PTI.

West Bengal 7th pay commission: All we know

As per the report, the first meeting included a review of the current status of the state government's various services, organisations, corporations and undertakings that fall under the commission's purview. The panel also discussed the broad roadmap for its work, it added.

The panel's ToR tasks it with examining the existing pay structure for state government employees, dearness allowance (DA) hike, special allowances, travelling allowance, promotion policy, pension pay and other retirement benefits of eligible state government retirees.

Besides this, it will also look into fixation of initial pay under a revised structure for employees and the method of revision of pension for retired beneficiaries.

The state had recently notified the Commission's ToR, including examination of the annual increment, currently at 3%, and the possibility of raising it to 5%.

The panel will also examine the scope for greater alignment between the pay levels of state government employees and those under the Centre, besides reviewing allowances such as house rent, transport, children's education and hostel subsidy.

Issues relating to retirement benefits, including restoration of commuted pension after 11 years, leave encashment at retirement and an additional increment for employees retiring on June 30, are also within its remit.

West Bengal 7th CPC: Members

The Commission is headed by retired IAS officer Atanu Chakraborty.

Partha Mukhopadhyay, senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, and Parthapratim Pal, professor of economics at IIM Calcutta, are members, while IAS officer Debiprasad Karnam is the member-secretary.

(With inputs from PTI)