Odishatv Bureau

Bhubaneswar: The fitment committee set up by the Odisha government for implementation of 7th Pay Commission recommendations for its employees and pensioners will submit its report to government in four months.

The 6-member panel will be headed by Development Commissioner R Balkrishnan while Home Secretary Asit Kumar Tripathy, Forest and Environment Secretary Suresh Mohapatra, Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Finance Special Secretary A.K. Meena and OSD-cum-special Secretary of Finance Aswini Kumar Mishra will be its members.

It will recommend a revision in the pay scale of state government employees keeping in view the revised pay scales of central government employees on the basis of Seventh Central Pay Commission recommendations, said a notification.

The committee would also suggest the modalities and procedure of fitment of the existing grades in the revised scale of pay recommended. It would also review the scale of other allowances and make necessary recommendations for revision, the notification said.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had on Friday announced implementation of the Seventh Central Pay Commission recommendations in the state.

Around four lakh state government employees and over three lakh pensioners would benefit from the move, officials said.

The 7th Pay Commission headed by Justice A K Mathur had recommended a 23.55 per cent overall hike in pay, allowances and pensions for central government employees with effect from January 1 this year.

An official estimation has pegged the pay revision requirement at about Rs 5,500 crore annually. Currently, the state government dishes out Rs 29,836 crore annually towards salaries and pensions

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