Demand to calculate House Rent Allowance based on Census 2011 should gain prominence..!

House Rent Allowance to Central Government employees is now calculated on the basis of the population census of 2001. The cities and towns are classified as X, Y, and Z, based on their population. Employees in these towns are eligible for 30%, 20% and 10% House Rent Allowances respectively.

 Population census is conducted once every ten years. The most recent census was held in 2011. Official information and findings of the Census was sent by the registrar General & Census Commissioner to the Finance Ministry a long time ago.  It is well known that the Confederation Secretary General had recently sent a letter to the Finance Ministry reiterating that the House rent Allowance must be recalculated on the basis of the new Census-2011 report.

 Based on the 2001 Census, Central Government employees residing in towns with population of more than 50 lakhs are given a House Rent Allowance of 30% of their basic pay. Employees living in towns with population of more than 5 lakhs are given House Rent Allowance of 20%. Those living in all the other towns are given a HRA of 10%.

 Similarly, Transportation Allowance too is given in two categories A-1, A, and Other places. 13 towns are currently classified as A-1 and A categories.

 The general feeling is that the demand for the revision of HRA based on the Population Census 2011 should come from all sides.

 Take the cities of Ahmadabad and Pune, for example. Populations in these towns have crossed the 50 lakh mark (Ahmadabad’s population is 63,52,254; and Pune’s population is 50,49,968). Similarly, according to Census 2011, the population of many smaller towns have crossed the 5 lakh mark. There is no doubt that a revision of House Rent Allowance based on the 2011 Population Census will benefit hundreds of thousands of employees.

 Here is the difference in the Population Census of 2001 and 2011 for some of the major cities:

 CITY POPULATION

2001 CENSUS POPULATION                             2011 CENSUS

DELHI (UA)                          1,28,77,470                                                                 1,63,14,838

GREATER MUMBAI (UA) 1,64,34,386 1,84,14,288

KOLKATA (UA)                   1,32,05,697                                                                 1,41,12,536

CHENNAI (UA) 6     5,60,242                                                                                  86,96,010

BENGALURU (UA)                         57,01,446                                                                    84,99,399

HYDERABAD (UA) 57,42,036                                                                                68,09,970

Centralgovernment employement news.

Chairpersons Note dt. 19-5-2-2014 – Important points:

• 1.   Notification defining the jurisdiction of the reorganized Zones/Commissionerates/Directorates will be issued on 19-5-2014.
• 2.      Notification allotting staff in  various for the revised formation will be issued after receipt vacancy position is received by all CCAs.
• 3.      Location codes for all the new formation will be given along with creation IT infrastructure like WAN/LAN by DT-G-Systems.
• 4.      Immediately after issue of Notification for Reorganized Formations and staff allocation, Infrastructure Committees will be submitting the proposals along with Budget requirement for creation of all infrastructural facilities.
• 5.      Member(P&V) will be intimating to the CCAs before 28-5-2014 as to whether amendments to RRs are required or not. If amendments to Inspectors RRs are not required then the CCAs can be ahead with conducting of DPCs. If amendments are required, DPCs may be delayed.
• 6.      For promotion to 2118 Group-A posts, over 10,000 APARs have to be scrutinized, verified and finalized before forwarding them to UPSC so that Date(s) for conducting of DPCs can be obtained from UPSC.   Mammoth task indeed
•     In Chairpersons words: “conducting of DPCs to 2118 posts is unprecedented and one matter which will involve a lot of work for UPSC as well”.
•  With the kind of time-frame given by Chairperson, lets hope that all formations are put in place with all facilities and promotions to atleast Group-B and C are given by June end.

Meeting on All India Seniority for Inspectors attended by Hon'ble Secretary General on 19th May,2014

Monday, May 19, 2014

Meeting on All India Seniority for Inspectors

A meeting was held today in the DGHRD office at Rajendra Place, New Delhi, which was  attended by the Committee appointed by the CBEC (to study issues concerning  proposed All India Seniority for Inspectors of Central Excise and their Customs counterparts)  and office bearers of  Associations representing Gr B Executives of both Excise and Customs sides. DG - HRD chaired the meeting. Chief Commisioner, Delhi Customs, ADG HRM and several other senior officials of the CBEC and DGHRD were present in the meeting.

AICEIA reiterated our earlier submissions made under letter dated 12. 05.2014 and also the fresh points raised in our letter (text reproduced hereunder) handed over during the course of today's meeting.

 F.  No. AICEIA/Merger/ HRD/2012/03                                                                  Date :  19.05.2014

The Additional Director General [HRM]

Directorate General of HRD

Central Board of Excise and Customs

409/8, Deep Shikha,

Rajendra Place,  New Delhi 110 008

Sub: Unification of Group B Non- Gazetted Executive grades into three AI cadres - Reg

Madam,

             Please refer to the DGHRD, CBEC OMs on the captioned subject issued under F. No. 8/B/36/HRD(HRM)/ 2014 Part- I dated 07.05.2014 and 09.05.2014, and this Association’s letter of even no. 2 dated 12.05.2014 in response to the same, further to which the following  submissions are made :

1.      Apart from the Judgment of the Hon’ble  Supreme Court in the Radheshyam Singh case, the provisions laid down by DoP&T as regards Seniority too mandate all India Seniority for all Inspectors who have been recruited by an All India Merit List:-

“2.1. SENIORITY OF DIRECT RECRUITS

The relative seniority of all direct recruits is determined by the order of merit in which they are selected for such appointment on the recommendations of the U.P.S.C. or other selecting authority, persons appointed as a result of an earlier selection being senior to those appointed as a result of subsequent selection. (O.M. No. 20011/5/90-Estt (D) Dated 4.11.1992)”

2.      Para 2.3 (page 3) of the Board Brief (F.No. 8/B/36/HRD(HRM)/2014)  does not represent wholly true facts inasmuch as the assertion that  “Even though the selections are made on the basis of all India Merit List, allocation of selected candidates is done on the basis of merit-cum-preference basis to various zonal /Commissionerate based cadres. Allocation of the grade, viz. Inspector CE, Preventive Officer or Examiner, is also done on the basis of thepreference indicated by the selected candidates at the time of submission of application for CGLE to the Staff Selection Commission.” is not correct . Information available indicates that for 1996(1999), 2003, 2004 & 2005 batches the process of allocation was not as per the above mentioned scheme. Promotion prospects for Inspectors (to the grade of Superintendent) / extant or projected relative levels of  stagnation have obviously never been a criteria adopted for allocation of Zones to a newly recruited Inspector.

3.      The very first paragraph of the aforesaid Board Brief (page 2)  states that “it is necessary to ensure that the legitimate aspirations of the officers and staff for promotions and upward movement in the hierarchy of the department are adequately addressed, as far as possible, in the present cadre restructuring exercise or even after that.” This Association welcomes this assertion of the DGHRD, and reiterates its submissions made countless times earlier that the Cadre Restructuring is an instrument to address such vexatious issues, and enhance career prospects ofall cadres, and it has to be essentially implemented in a manner to resolve  issues such as these. The CBEC’s visualization that “zonal/cadre disparities in promotional avenues will gradually disappear with passage of time” is not acceptable to this Association, as  such an attitude would be abdication of  responsibility to positively intervene in a situation of grave and long-standing injustice even when an unprecedented opportunity is afforded for addressing conclusively these matters. It may also kindly be noted that this Association and the cadre it represents have been repeatedly assured  by the Board over the past many years that come CR and the regional disparities plaguing it will be done away with.    

                                                               Yours faithfully   

                                                               (Ajit Kumar K G)

                                                                                                                                                                                                          Secretary General

We have emphatically impressed upon the Committee that our demand is that All India Seniority must be introduced beginning the first batch of Inspectors recruited on an All India Merit List inducted in the Department in 2003, and that all Inspectors senior to them in all Zones must be promoted prior to that. We have also informed that if this is not accepted, there will most certainly be serious litigation immediately.

A point was sponsored in the Meeting by the AIACEGEO, the Assn representing Supdts of Central Excise that what was needed was to bring parity among all the 3 executive base cadres in the Deptt., and our Association extended full support to the same, and pointed out that vide letter dated 28.12.2012 and on various other occasions we have voiced this demand unequivocally, and that the AICEIA views  the removal of regional disparites among Inspectors from various Central Excise Zones as an important step in this direction.

An extremely unfortunate development was when during today's meeting  the Secretary General of the  AIACEGEO  vehemently opposed  our demand for introduction of All India Seniority and upgradation of  all Inspectors with 12 or more years of service stating that it would greatly inconvenience them (Superintendents) with fewer Inspectors to assist them in many Zones, and that if Inspectors have to move to other Zones on promotion as Superintendents, the apprehension of All India Transfer liability could arise in Supdts' cadre. We did counter this argument saying that the Supdts cadre is functioning  presently without any difficulty without AI transfers, and the only relaxation required in the new dispensation suggested by us was that transfers on requests may be allowed to Supdts wishing to be repatriated to their home zones if they have had to move  out to other Zones  on promotion on account of vacancies in the higher grade  not being available in their home zones at the time of their promotion.

Equally disturbing was the Superintendents' Assn SG's repeated insistence during today's meeting  for amendment of RRs of Supdts to reduce the residency period for promotion of Inspectors of Central Excise to Superintendents from eight years to two years, even as the AICEIA forcefully advanced its position that any reduction of minimum qualifying service should be considered only after regional disparities in promotions are completely done away with in the Inspectors' cadre.
   

The Office Secretary of the Central Excise Superintendents' Association who also attended the meeting today with his SG, in a vicious attack on our Association, said that Resolutions of AICEIA need not be considered seriously  as opinions of the C. Ex Inspectors' cadre since CEC meetings or Conventions are attended by hardly a hundred Inspectors whereas the cadre itself is about 17000 strong. AICEIA office bearers raised objections to this immediately, and made it clear that we cannot accept casting of such aspersions on our organisation. The DG HRD and the CC Delhi Customs agreed with our contentions and advised the Supdts' Assn office bearers to confine their submissions to functioning of their own Association.

The Committee shall now compile the different Associations' views and in light of the same submit its report to the CBEC, which, in turn, will take a final call in the matter. 

It was also informed that  notifications in respect of jurisdiction of new formations and staff allocations as part of CR shall be issued by the end of this week. 

Ajit Kumar K G
Secretary General

Online Survey by 7th CPC

7^th Pay Commission has initiated online Survey has initiated online  Survey  through survey.nic.in which will be open until 15^th June,2014 calling for opinion and suggestions from all stake holders such as Associations, Groups, organizations and individuals concerned with 7^th CPC. The questions are the same with the ones mentioned in the 7^th CPC circulated to all stake holders manually. The last date for online reply to 7^th CPC Survey has been fixed as 15^th June,2014 till 17.00 hrs.

The online survey of 7^th CPC will take into consideration for the purpose of examination of CG employees Pay structure and allowances, retirement benefits of CG Pensiones and service conditions of employees. 

INSPECTORS MACP ORDER OF HYDERABAD AND VIZAG ZONES

IMPLEMENTATION OF CR IN HYDERABAD CCA

I.                   Formations in Hyderabad Zone:

Central Excise Commissionerates :  4

Service Tax Commissionerate       :  1

Audit Commissionerate                :  1

Customs Commissionerate            :  1

Hyderabad ‘J’ Division  of Hyd-III Comm’te and Kathedan and Gaganpagad Ranges of Hyderabad-IV Comm’te will be added to Hyderabad-II Comm’te in addition to its present jurisdiction.

II.                Formations in Vizag Zone:

Central Excise Commissionerates : 5

Audit Commissionerate                : 1 ( to be located in Vijayawada)

Customs Preventive Comm’te       : 1 ( to be located in Vijayawada/Kakinada)

Present Customs Commissionerate in Vizag Custom House will continue.

In place of present four CE Commissionerates, one new CE Commissionerate is proposed to be created in Kurnool or Kadapa with three districts (Kurnool/Kadapa, Ongole and Nellore).

III.             Division of CE Commisionerates in to Fat and Lean:

Based on work load, all the CE Commissionerates will be treated as Fat or Lean.

Fat Commissionerate will have a sanctioned strength of 80 Supdts and Lean Commissionerate will have 50 Supdts.

  

IV.             AGT and IZT Transfers:

It seems CC-Hyderabad has decided to effect AGT and IZT  tansfers along with implementation of CR before June 15^th.  However, around 15 Superintendents who have completed their prescribed tenure of 990 days in Vizag Zone will be repatriated to Hyderabad Zone by way of mini IZT order against the latest promotion order.

V.                Manpower of proposed two Customs Commissionerates:

It seems all the posts of Group-B of the proposed two Customs Commissionerates in Hyderabad Zone and Vizag Zone have allotted to Central Excise pool.

Disclaimer: This is Posted based on information gathered. Actual information will have to be taken after issuance of  CR Notification, Allocation of Posts for each Formation and Notifications of Formations.

CHAIRPERSON'S GREETINGS ON CR APPROVAL

Inspector to Supdt promotion order Hyderabad CCA

AICEIA reports that Board issued Notification about creation of New Establishments as approved by Cabinet yesterday and that staff allocation has already been approved by Hon'ble Finance Minister on 10-5-2014.

MEETING in Board ON 19.05.14

On 19 .05.14 there is a meeting in Board office only to discuss prospective merger of Inspector Central Excise cadre from Zonal to an all India cadre with all India seniority list. Board has already given in principle APPROVAL TO THE SCHEME. No other issue will be discussed.

Staff allocation has already been approved by FM on 10th May, 2014.
ON 11th May 2014 BOARD HAS ISSUED NOTIFICATION ABOUT CREATION OF NEW ESTABLISHMENTS AS APPROVED BY CABINET.