LAHORE, Nov 24: The governor has approved more than 200 per cent increase in judicial and utility allowances of the members of the establishment (BS 1 to 16) of the Lahore High Court (LHC) and its three divisional benches.

The raise will be effective from Jan 1, 2008, a notification issued by the Punjab Finance Department said. Employees from BS one to six would be given a Rs3,000 utility allowance per month as earlier they were getting Rs1,000 or 10 per cent of their basic pay, whichever was higher.

They will get a Rs4,000 per month judicial allowance. Earlier, they were getting 30 per cent of their basic pay.

The notification said employees from BS seven-16 would get a Rs4,000 utility allowance who earlier were getting Rs1,000 or 10 per cent of their basic pay.

The employees will get a Rs6,000 per month judicial allowance as earlier they were getting 30 percent of their basic pay. The raise was approved after LHC Chief Justice Sayed Zahid Husain recommended it.