Govt hikes allowance for differently-abled kids of employees

New Delhi, Nov. 2 (PTI): The education allowance for differently-abled children of central government employees has been increased from Rs 30,000 to Rs 54,000 annually, an official order said.

Rules provide that reimbursement of education allowance for differently-abled children of government employees be payable at double the prescribed rate for other children — Rs 2,250 per month, following a recommendation of the 7th Pay Commission.

“The annual ceiling fixed for reimbursement of Children Education Allowance (CEA) for differently-abled children of government employees is now Rs 54,000,” the order issued recently by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.

If both the spouses were government servants, only one of them could avail of the reimbursement, it added.

The allowance cap would automatically be raised by 25 per cent every time the dearness allowance on the revised pay structure went up by 50 per cent, it added.

The amount fixed for reimbursement of hostel subsidy was Rs 6,750 per month now, the DoPT order said.

The 6th Pay Commission had fixed the children education allowance at the rate of Rs 1,500 per month (Rs 3,000 for differently-abled children) and hostel subsidy at Rs 4,500 per month.

Further, reimbursements would be released only once a year, after the completion of the financial year, the DoPT said.

For CEA reimbursement, a certificate from the head of the institution, where the ward of the employee studied, would be sufficient, the order said, adding that the certificate should confirm that the child studied in the school during the previous academic year.

For the hostel subsidy, a similar certificate from the head of the institution would suffice, with the additional requirement that the document should mention the amount of expenditure incurred by the government servant towards lodging and boarding in the residential complex, the order said.