LAHORE, March 10: The Punjab Government Servants Benevolent Fund Board has proposed different rates of grants for gazetted and non-gazetted employees for replacing uniform rates for both categories in vogue since the establishment of the fund in 1960.

Provincial Additional Secretary/ Economic Adviser Yaqub Zia told Dawn that a substantial increase had been proposed in the existing rates of grants for disbursement of almost 100 per cent of the compulsory deductions of the fund from the salaries of 846,300 employees — 744,868 non-gazetted, 88,572 gazetted and 12,680 unclassified — in the new rates of grants to be introduced after the approval of the Punjab governor.

The BF board would, however, retain the accumulated savings and the profits earned on the investment of the same running into billions of rupees.

He said that a proposal for the utilization of the accumulated savings and profits for the development of housing schemes had been discussed at the recent BF board meeting but was not approved as plots could not be developed for all the employees in all the cities and towns from the available funds. It was, however, decided to enhance the rates of grants substantially for ensuring utilization of the maximum possible amount of new contributions deducted at the rate of two per cent of the existing basic salary of every government employee.

He said different rates of grants had been proposed for the gazetted and non-gazetted government servants instead of the uniform rates in vogue since the establishment of the BF in 1960. Higher rates of grants had been proposed for the gazetted officers because the volume of their BF contributions was higher than those of the non-gazetted. The funds of the two categories of employees were being maintained separately and managed by different boards.

The monthly subsistence payable to the employees incapacitated during service or the survivors (widows and children) of the employees in the event of their death was proposed to be increased as under:

Category of Present Proposed

Employee Rate Rate

Basic Scale 1 to 4 Rs 1000 Rs 1200

Basic Scale 5 to 10 Rs 1100 Rs 1300

Basic Scale 11 to 15 Rs 1300 Rs 1500

Scale 16

(Non-gazetted) Rs 1600 Rs 1800

Scale 16 (Gazetted) Rs 1600 Rs 2500

Basic Scale 17 Rs 1800 Rs 4000

Basic Scale 18 Rs 2000 Rs 5500

Basic Scale 19 Rs 2300 Rs 7500

Basic Scale 20

& above Rs 2500 Rs 9500

Monthly subsistence was payable to an employee for 15 years from the date of being incapacitated during service. If the government servant expires during 15 years after retirement due to being incapacitated the assistance was payable to the survivors for the remaining period.

Around 40,000 employees were being paid the monthly subsistence allowance from the benevolent fund in the Punjab at present.

The existing and proposed rates of grant payable on the marriages of the daughters of government servants were as under:

Category of Existing Proposed

Employees Rate Rate

Non-gazetted (alive) Rs 3500 Rs 6000

Non-Gazetted

(deceased) Rs 5000 Rs 8000

Gazetted (alive) Rs 3500 Rs 25000

Gazetted (deceased) Rs 5000 Rs 30000

The gender-based grant was payable on the marriage of the daughter of a government servant not only during the tenure of service but within 15 years after retirement or death also.

The existing and proposed rates for the funeral grant were as under:

Category of Existing Proposed

Employees Rate Rate

Non-Gazetted Rs.2000 Rs 4000

Gazetted Rs.2000 Rs 10000

Funeral grant was paid in the event of the death of a gazetted government servant or family member only during the tenure of service.

The non-gazetted government servants were entitled to the grant in the event of the death of a family member during their tenure of service. Their family members could apply for it in the event of their death not only during service but afterwards also.

The existing and proposed rates of stipends payable annually for the education of the children of government employees were as under:

Non-Gazetted Existing Proposed

Employees Rate Rate

Primary/middle Rs.500 Rs.1000

Secondary/higher secondary

Tuition fee/books Rs.1000 Rs.2000

Hostel charges Rs.2200 Rs.3000

Degree classes

Tuition fee/books Rs.2000 Rs.4000

Hostel charges Rs.3200 Rs.5000

M.A/M.Phil

Tuition fee/books RS.2000 RS.3200

Hostel Rs.3200 RS.7000

Gazetted Existing Proposed

Employees Rate Rate

Primary/middle Rs.500 Rs.3000

Secondary/higher secondary

Tuition fee\books Rs.1000 Rs.7000

Hostel charges Rs.2200 Rs.9000

Degree/equivalent

Tuition fee/books Rs.2000 Rs.14000

Hostel charges Rs.3200 Rs.16000

M.A/M.Phil

Tuition fee/books Rs.2000 Rs.18000

Hostel Rs.3200 Rs.20000

Two children of employees in basic scale 1 to 4 were paid stipend for secondary school education on the basis of the middle school examination results.

Three children of the deceased employees were entitled for stipend. Children of other employees were eligible for grant of stipend in case they secured 60 per cent or more marks in the secondary school examination or 55 per cent or more marks in higher classes examinations.

Special children were eligible for grant without any condition of marks.

The benevolent fund board also proposed to send 75 gazetted and 92 non-gazetted officials for Haj next year against 19 gazetted and 42 non-gazetted employees sent for Haj this year.

The BF started sponsoring the Haj of the government servants in 1994 on the orders of former prime minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. It spent Rs 2,124,221 on their Haj. The number of employees sent for Haj decreased gradually later on due to increase in expenses as the amount sanctioned for the purpose was not revised.

It has now been proposed to send 167 government servants (75 gazetted and 92 non-gazetted) for Haj next year by increasing the allocation of funds. The BF has sponsored the Haj of 875 government servants till date. Employees attaining the age of 51 years are eligible to apply for the Haj grant. They are chosen for Haj through a ballot, he said.