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Thursday April 25, 2024

House rent anomaly

As the federal budget is likely to be presented in the first week of the next month, government officials have again raised their expectations for an increase in their salaries. One of the injustices made in each budget is not addressing the disparity in the house rent allowance (HRA) and

By our correspondents
May 04, 2015
As the federal budget is likely to be presented in the first week of the next month, government officials have again raised their expectations for an increase in their salaries. One of the injustices made in each budget is not addressing the disparity in the house rent allowance (HRA) and the rental ceiling (HC) allowed to those who rent their own accommodations.
For example, a BS-2 official get HRA of Rs1,366 per month if not living in a government-rented accommodation but his counterpart with a rented house is allowed HC of Rs3,254 in Islamabad or Rs3,051 per month for those residing elsewhere. Similarly, a BS-19 officer is given HRA of Rs8,856 per month if not provided with a government-rented accommodation but his counterpart having rented a government accommodation in Islamabad is allowed HC of Rs25,326 or Rs21,674 if residing elsewhere. This gap is almost 1:3. Due to this disparity, most government employees have prepared fake papers to pocket the huge amount available under the HC head. The government should address this disparity and announce a uniform rate of house rent in the 2015-16 budget.
Shameela Khan
Peshawar