LAHORE: The Punjab government has approved 50 percent increase in the ‘daily allowance on official duty’ within the country and ‘travelling and mileage allowance’ given to government officers and officials.

As per a notification issued by the Punjab finance department on Tuesday, the government revised the existing rates of the daily allowances admissible to government employees with effect from July 1.

There were two slabs for the two allowances: ordinary rates and special rates. The special rates applicable to employees stationed in Hyderabad, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Sukkur, Bahawalpur, DG Khan, Sargodha, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Murree and northern areas.

Under the revised rates, the daily allowance for Grade 21 and 22 officials under ordinary rates has increased from Rs 2,800 to Rs 4,200 per day, for Grade 19 and 20 officials from Rs 2,480 to Rs 3,720 per day, for Grade 17 and 18 officials from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 per day, for Grade 12-16 officials from Rs 1,120 to Rs 1,680 per day, for Grade 5-11 officials from Rs 624 to Rs 936 per day and for Grade 1-4 officials from Rs 496 to Rs 744 per day.

The daily allowance under special rates for a Grade 22 official now stands at Rs 7,200 per day followed by Rs 6,000 in the case of Grade 21, Rs 4,920 for those in Grade 19 and 20 and Rs 3,840 for Grade 17 and 18. As far the other employees are concerned, the amount for Grade 12 to Grade 16 is fixed at Rs 2,160 followed by Rs 1,320 for Grades 5 to 11 and Rs 1,200 for Grades 1 to 4.

Similarly, the transportation allowance was increased to Rs 7.5 per kilometre (km) for cars and Rs 3.75 for motorcycles where the mileage allowance increased to Rs 15 per km for personal cars or taxis, Rs 6 km for motorcycles, Rs 3 km for bicycles and Rs 3.75 km for public transport.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023