Baijal approves 25% pay hike for DTC employees, 30,000 to benefit

NEWDELHI: Employees of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will get a salary hike of about 25% as lieutenant governor Anil Baijal on Wednesday approved the implementation of the recommendations of the Seventh Central Pay Commission.

The move will benefit 30,000 employees of the DTC who had been demanding a pay revision.

Announcing the move, Baijal tweeted, “Approved the proposal for implementing 7th Central Pay Commission in DTC. Urge DTC employees to make bus transport in Delhi the best.”

According to DTC officials, the decision would cost the exchequer ₹240 crore annually.

The corporation said the hike was due since several months. “The primary reason for the delay in implementing the pay hike was the concern that DTC was not making profits. Another reason was the DTC rule book,” a DTC official said.

“Though DTC is a Delhi government entity, it is governed by central rules. Then there is a provision of encashing leaves for DTC drivers and conductors which does not exist in central rules. So all these had to be sorted out,” the official said.

The Delhi transport department earlier this month sent the proposal to the L-G after the finance department cleared it.

The modalities were finalised by a committee set up in June.

“There were fears that after implementing the 7th Pay Commission norms, the salaries of DTC staff would be way higher. But we found the pay package of these employees does not have maternity and paternity leave benefits or medical and transport allowance. So we went ahead,” a member of the committee said on condition of anonymity.