Special incentives for central govt staff in Kashmir extended for 3 years

The special incentives for central government employees posted in the Kashmir valley would continue for an additional three years, according to Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday.

He claimed that orders for the extension of these benefits had already been issued by the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT).

To allay concerns and incorrect information in some quarters that the DoPT was about to end the special incentives/concessions available to the central government personnel working in Kashmir valley, Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel, clarified this while speaking to the media here.

According to him, the DoPT officially issued a "Office Memorandum" (OM) to this effect around two weeks ago and forwarded a copy of it to all parties involved.

According to Singh, the incentive package is uniformly applicable to all of the ministries, departments, and public sector organisations that are part of the Indian government, and they have been given instructions to ensure strict adherence to the implementation of it.

According to the DoPT OM, the responsible ministries and departments may guarantee that the package is implemented and monitored in accordance with the approved package.

According to a statement from the personnel ministry, the special benefits for employees posted in the Kashmir valley include the option for them to move their families at the expense of the government to a location of their choice in India and the allowance for family travel is admissible in permanent transfers along with the composite transfer grant at a rate of 80% of the last month's basic pay.

According to the DoPT, employees who do not want to relocate their families to a chosen location will receive an allowance of Rs 113 per day for each day of attendance to cover any additional costs associated with transportation to and from work, etc. This amount is comparable to the reimbursement of travel expenses for travel within the city under the terms of the Department of Expenditure.