7th Pay Commission Recommendations Tribal Area Allowance Related to Risk and Hardship
Tribal Area Allowance: ( Abolished as a separate allowance. Subsumed in Tough Location Allowance-III. To be paid as per Cell R3H3 of the newly proposed Risk and Hardship Matrix.)
It is paid to Central Government employees posted in notified Tribal Talukas and pockets in certain States. The extant rates are:
| GP > ₹5400 | Others |
| ₹600 pm | ₹360 pm |
7th Pay Commission Recommendations Risk and Hardship Matrix and Salient Features
Demands Received:
The Defence forces have, in general, asked for a four-fold increase from the base rate of 2008. There is a strong demand, especially from the PBORs of Defence forces, for parity in the payment of these allowances on the contention that higher ranked officials get higher pay, but the risk/hardship faced is largely comparable. Hence, they claim that there is no justification for slab-wise variation in the quantum of these allowances (there are as many as seven slabs in some cases).
Analysis and Recommendations
The Commission finds merit in the argument that a large number of slabs is not required in administering risk and hardship allowances. Hence, we have recommended just two slabs for each allowance–with one rate for officers and a lower rate for PBORs. Most of the existing relativities have been maintained.
There are some “Special Compensatory” allowances that are based on geographical location and are meant to compensate for hardship faced by employees posted at such places. It is proposed to subsume these allowances under the umbrella of “Tough Location Allowance” as follows:
- Places presently covered under Special Compensatory (Remote Locality) Allowance (SCRLA)–Parts A and B will be covered by Tough Location Allowance-I.
- Places presently covered under SCRLA–Part C will be covered by Tough Location Allowance–II.
- Places presently covered under Bad Climate Allowance, Tribal Area Allowance, Sunderban Allowance and SCRLA–Part D will be covered by Tough Location Allowance–III.
In the unlikely event of a place falling in more than one category, the higher rate of Tough Location Allowance will be applicable. Tough Location Allowance will, however, not be admissible along with Special Duty Allowance