7th Pay Commission: The central government has given a big gift to the central government employees just before Holi festival. Under the 7th Central Pay Commission, all those employees who were waiting eagerly for an increase in salary, have got a big Holi bonus from the Narendra Modi led government. The central government has doubled the House Rent Allowance (HRA) for those employees who live in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura and Vrindavan.

The Uttar Pradesh Government has converted Mathura and Vrindavan into a Municipal Corporation which has changed the status of these cities. 

The category of Mathura-Vrindavan has been raised after this decision. Initially, it was in the Z category and now it has been upgraded to Y category. The central government employees falling within this municipal corporation will get an increase in their HRAs from 1 March 2020.  The decision has been taken because of the growing population in these cities.

Because of the rise in population, both cities have been brought from the Z category to Y category. This means that all central government employees living within this municipal corporation will get their HRAs according to the Y category. The new rules are also applicable for people serving in the Indian armed forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) and personnel in the paramilitary forces.

HRA revision
Former President of AG Office Brotherhood, Allahabad and also Assistant Secretary-General of All India Audit and Accounts Association told Zee Business that the government revised HRA after the implementation of the 7th pay commission. There are 3 categories in this viz. X,Y and Z. For X category, cities with a population over 50 lakhs come to The central government employees get the highest HRA at 24 pct per month while people in Y category cities get HRA at 16 pct while for Z category it is 8 pct

Population Upgradation
According to a circular issued by the Finance Ministry if any city is upgraded on the basis of population, then the central government residing in the city will get a higher HRA. Tewari said that if a city has a population of over 5 lakh, then the city automatically becomes Y category from the Z category and the employees then are entitled to 16 pct from 8 pct.

HRA maths
As per the new developments, people living in cities with a population of 50 lakhs or more are kept in the X category. People living in such cities will get HRA of Rs 5400 at 24 pct. The employees living in Y category cities will get a minimum of Rs 3600 at 16 pct. Central Government employees living in the Z category are entitled to Rs 1800 HRA at 8 pct.

Source:- zeebiz