& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Top brass to get Tk 46,300; lowest staff Tk 5,896

Pay Commission finalises report; measures will need Tk 5,249 crore in addition

In am Ahmed
The top most civil servants should get Tk 27,500 in basic salary and those at the lowest rung Tk 2,800, according to the National Pay Commission which will submit its recommendations to the government bymonth-end.
This means a 57.87 percent rise for the top brass and 70.17 percent for thdse at the bottom from the
existing pay structure, according to commission sources.
When added with all allowances, the highest salary of a civil servant would come to Tk 46,300 and the lowest Tk 5,896.
The lowest salary has been fixed keeping in mind the calorie intake of ahouseholdoffourpersons.
The newpay scale will take effect from January 1.
The commission, headed by
former cabinet secretary Mujibul Haq, has estimated that the cumulative inflation increased by 31.76 percent since 1997 when the last pay scale was implemented. But during this time, the government staffs received only 10 percent dearness allowance in 2003.
The commission has also recommended dial civil servants should pay their own income tax. Staffs will
FROM PAGE 1
have to give their tax indentification number for withdrawal of salary every month.
A civil servant entitled to a car will gctTk 14,000 a month if they do not use government vehicle. The commission also recommended officials who would not use government cars should get Tk 10 lakh in soft loans. Officials who are not entitled to government vehicles should also getTk4 lakh in car loans.
The commission has observed that because of poor pay, efficient officials tend to leave government 1 service and join private jobs. It is also observed that efficient officials tend to lose their skills and zeal over time because of poor reward and punishmentsystem.
The report showed how the gap in pay between a government and a private sector official widened since 1995. A secretary whose take-home salary was Tk 13,000 in 1995 now is Tk 19,348 at current price. But at the same time, a private employee who used to drawTk 13,000 in 1995 now gets Tk 40,000. It shows a secretary now draws Tk 4,348 less than what he used to draw nine years ago.
About housing allowance, the commission recommended that civil servants should get more housing loans so that they can solve their own housing need. It also suggested that housing allowance should vary depending on the area of employment. For example, a staff living in
Dhaka city should get 60 percent of basic salary as housing allowance while one living in Chittagong city should get 55 percent, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal and Sylhet city 50 percent, old district towns 45 percent, new district towns 40 percent and upazila, union and other areas 30 percent.
The commission felt that civil servants should get allowances for the education of their children up to secondary level. ItrecommendedTk 100 per child education allowance for up to two children.
Pensioners
The commission has also recommended an increase in pensions. Those who are now getting Tk 200 net pension should get Tk 500 while the highest pension drawers getting Tk 5,501 and above a month should get a minimum ofTk7,425.
Monetary involvement
The implementation of the new pay structure would involve an extra Tk 5,249 crore every year or 48.70 percent more in revenue expenses. This year Tk 10,779.41 crore has been allocated for salary and wages. If the new structure is implemented, this would increase to Tk 16,029.13 crore. The increase in salary head would be Tk 1,447.78 crore (38.62 percent)', housing allowances Tk 607.67 crore (40.22 percent), medical allowances 222.47 crore (80.20 percent) and festival allowances Tk 302.49 crore (53.98 percent).