Cabinet okays 85pc increase in rental ceiling for federal employees

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet has approved an 85 percent uniform increase in the monthly rental ceiling for all categories of federal government employees, in line with the recommendation of the Finance Division.

The summary proposing the increase was presented to the cabinet on October 30 and was approved the following day. According to procedure, once the summary is cleared by the circulation committee, it is forwarded to the Prime Minister for final approval. After the Prime Minister’s endorsement, the Cabinet Division will transmit the minutes to the Ministry of Housing and Works.

Officials from the Ministry of Housing and Works said that the Cabinet Division has not yet sent the written minutes. They added that after receiving them, the ministry will issue a formal notification next week.

According to sources, after the 85 percent increase, the new rental ceiling for Grade 1 to 2 employees in Islamabad will be Rs13,004 and Rs12,193 for other cities. For employees in Grades 3 to 6, the ceiling will be Rs20,313 in Islamabad and Rs17,860 in other cities. Employees in Grades 7 to 10 will receive Rs30,346 in Islamabad and Rs27,162 elsewhere. The ceiling for Grades 11 to 13 will be Rs45,776 in Islamabad and Rs39,705 in other cities, while for Grades 14 to 16 it will be Rs57,507 and Rs50,198, respectively.

For Grades 17 and 18, the rental ceiling has been set at Rs76,122 for Islamabad and Rs66,411 for other cities. Grade 19 employees will have a ceiling of Rs101,202 in Islamabad and Rs88,610 in other areas. For Grade 20, it will be Rs127,095 and Rs109,296, while for Grade 21 it will be Rs152,183 and Rs131,548, respectively. The ceiling for Grade 22 employees will be Rs182,121 in Islamabad and Rs165,076 in other cities.

The substantial revision aims to provide relief to government employees amid rising housing costs, particularly in urban centers such as Islamabad.