West Bengal 7th Pay Commission launches website: Has panel made any recommendations on pay, allowances, pension so far?

The West Bengal government’s 7th Pay Commission has decided to set up a dedicated website to make its proceedings and official updates accessible to the public, a senior official said on Monday.

The decision was taken during the Commission’s first meeting at the state secretariat Nabanna, shortly after the government formally notified its terms of reference.

The official clarified that the Commission has not yet proposed any changes to salaries, allowances or pensions.

The upcoming website is expected to go live soon and will provide details of the Commission’s activities, official notifications and opportunities for stakeholders to submit their views and relevant data. It will also allow employees and other stakeholders to submit memoranda to the panel.

The Commission has also urged government employees and other stakeholders not to trust documents or information being circulated on social media, stressing that it has not made any recommendations yet, the official said.

He added that the dedicated website was being developed to ensure that all verified information related to the Commission is available through a single authorised platform.

"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," PTI quoted an officials as saying.

The Commission’s first meeting also took stock of the current status of government departments, organisations, corporations and other undertakings covered by its mandate. Members also discussed the broad framework and priorities for the Commission’s work.

West Bengal 7th pay commission members

The panel is headed by retired IAS officer Atanu Chakraborty. Partha Mukhopadhyay, a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, and Parthapratim Pal, professor of economics at IIM Calcutta, are its members. IAS officer Debiprasad Karnam serves as the member-secretary.

Bengal 7th pay commission: What will it review?

The panel has been asked to review the existing salary structure of state government employees, along with dearness allowance (DA), special and travelling allowances, promotion rules, pensions and other retirement benefits.

Its mandate also includes determining how starting salaries should be fixed under any revised pay structure and examining the process for revising pensions of retired government employees.

The state government’s recently notified terms of reference require the Commission to review the existing annual increment of 3% and consider whether it should be increased to 5%.

The panel will also explore the possibility of bringing the pay levels of state government employees closer to those of their Central government counterparts. Its mandate covers a review of allowances, including house rent, transport, children’s education and hostel subsidies.

The Commission will further examine various retirement-related matters, such as restoring commuted pension after 11 years, leave encashment at the time of retirement and granting an additional increment to employees who retire on June 30.

(With inputs from agency)