The Union Cabinet today approved upgradation of 29 cities and towns on
the basis of 2011 population census for providing higher house and
transportation allowance to central government employees.
The revised classification of cities would be effective from April 1,
2014 and cost the exchequer approximately Rs 128 crore for 2014-15.
"The Cabinet has approved reclassification / upgradation of
certain cities/towns on the basis of Census 2011 for the purpose of granting
House Rent Allowance (HRA) and Transport Allowance to central government
employees," Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told
reporters here.
One the basis of the census, 2 cities - Pune and Ahmedabad - have been
upgraded to 'X' class from 'Y' and 21 cities to 'Y' from 'Z' for the purpose of
HRA, an official statement read.
These 21 cities are Nellore, Gurgaon, Bokaro Steel City, Gulbarga,
Thrissur, Malappuram, Kannur, Kollam, Ujjain, Vasai-Virar City, Malegaon,
Nanded-Waghala, Sangli, Rourkela, Ajmer, Erode, Noida, Firozabad, Jhansi,
Siliguri and Durgapur.
That apart, six - Patna, Kochi, Indore, Coimbatore and Ghaziabad - have
been advanced to 'Specified Higher Class' from 'Other Places' for the purpose
of transport allowance, the statement said.
So far, the Census 2001 has been used for deciding the HRA and
transport allowance of central government officials posted in these towns and
cities.
The existing qualifying threshold of population for HRA classification
is 50 lakh and above for X, 5-50 lakh for Y and below 5 lakh for Z class
cities.The employees are entitled for HRA of 30%, 20% and 10% respectively for
X, Y and Z class cities
Transportation allowance is payable at 'higher rates' in 13 specified
cities classified earlier as 'A-1' and 'A' (those with a population of 20 lakh
and above) and 'lower rates' for the rest.
The cities and towns are classified as X, Y and Z for the purpose of
HRA and 13 specified cities classified as A-1, A and Other Places for transportation
allowance.
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