Government Constituted Sixth Pay Commission

September 02, 2006: True to the Media reports Government finally constituted the Sixth Pay Commission and Former SC judge Sri Krishna to head pay commission.

The Government on Saturday appointed former Supreme Court judge Justice B N Srikrishna as Chairman of the Sixth Pay Commission that will go into revision of wages for 33 lakh Central government employees. An official announcement said the pay commission would have three other members, apart from its Chairman.The members are -- IIM professor Ravindra Dholakia, former additional secretary budget and member secretary of Expenditure Reforms Commission J S Mathur and S Nath, who will be the member secretaries of the pay panel.

Srikrishna, a former judge of the Bombay High Court, had headed the inquiry commission that went into the Mumbai communal violence in 1993 in the aftermath of Babri Masjid demolition.The Cabinet cleared the proposal for setting up the sixth pay commission in July.

The fifth pay commission was also headed by a former Supreme Court judge, Ratnavel Pandian. As per the Cabinet decision in July, the three-member sixth pay commission will be given 18 months to submit its recommendations. The commission will also examine the need and quantum to sanction interim relief to the employees.

The Cabinet decision to set up the sixth pay commission came five months after the announcement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard. The Centre had consulted the state governments, of which 16 had sent comments.

While BJP-ruled Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh totally opposed its setting up, six other states -- Karnataka, Assam, Tripura, Orissa, Manipur and Nagaland -- wanted the Centre to share the burden, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunsi had said after the Cabinet meeting.

The previous fifth pay commission, which was implemented in 1996-97, cost the exchequer additional Rs 17,000 crore yearly and had put a heavy burden on states, forcing the then finance minister to come out with a financial package to bail them out.

The sixth pay commission is widely expected to cost Rs 20,000 crore to the Centre's exchequer annually. The prime minister had, however, said the move would not hurt the fiscal situation and cause apprehension among foreign investors.