West Bengal Extends Deadline for 7th Pay Commission Recommendations

Kolkata, November 14 (Daily Kiran) : The West Bengal government has extended the deadline for submitting recommendations to the 7th Pay Commission amid confusion regarding which state employees will be included. The new deadline is set for November 30, according to a notification from the state’s finance department.

Employee organizations have expressed disappointment over the repeated extensions of the deadline. Initially, recommendations were to be submitted by September 2. Following this, the finance department issued two notifications, which included additional organizations and employees under the commission’s purview while excluding others.

To accommodate requests from newly included organizations and retired employees, the 7th Pay Commission’s dedicated website will remain open until November 30. The commission has specified that only applications submitted through this website will be considered; hard copies, PDFs, or emails will not be accepted.

On November 5, the state finance department released two proposals. The first tasked the commission with reviewing the salary structures and service conditions of regular non-teaching staff at state-aided universities and all employees of three education boards: the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE), the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE), and the West Bengal Madrasah Education Board (WBBME).

Subsequently, another notification was issued, bringing 14 development boards and several organizations under the commission’s scope, while excluding three bodies: the West Bengal Madrasah Education Board, the West Bengal Council of Technical Education, and the West Bengal Council of Vocational Education.

Since the BJP-led government took office earlier this year, state employees have had high hopes regarding the Pay Commission and the dearness allowance (DA) parity with central employees. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced the formation of the 7th Pay Commission to restructure the salary framework for state government employees, prompting the government to initiate the preliminary process for its establishment.