ROPA, 2019 for Employees of WBBSE/ WBBME/ WBCHSE/ Universities etc.

GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL
FINANCE (AUDIT) DEPARTMENT
‘NABANNA’
HOWRAH – 711102.

No. 16-F(P1) Dated: 02.01.2020

MEMORANDUM

In terms of Finance Department Resolution No. 5695-F(P), dated 01.10.2019, the following categories of employees have been brought under the purview of the 6th Pay Commission constituted for the State Government employees and certain other categories of employees vide Resolution No. 8070-F(P), dated 27.11.2015, whose terms of reference were decided under Resolution No. 8071-F(P), dated 27.11.2015:

(i) Non-teaching employees of all State-aided Universities as shown in Schedule-I,

(ii) Employees of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education,

(iii) Employees of West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education,

(iv) Employees of West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education,

(v) Employees of West Bengal Council of Rabindra Open Schooling.

2. The Pay Commission has since submitted Volume-I of its report in respect of the above categories of employees. After careful consideration of the recommendations of the Pay Commission in regard to structure of pay and major allowances like Dearness Allowance, House Rent Allowance and Medical Allowance, the Governor has been pleased to approve the following benefits in respect of all employees covered under Resolution No. 5695-F(P2), dated 01.10.2019 appointed to the whole time posts as approved by the State Government from time to time including whole time posts for officers as mentioned herein below:

3. Pay Structure:

Keeping parity with the revised pay structure prescribed for State Government employees under the West Bengal Services (Revision of Pay and Allowance) Rules, 2019 the revised pay structure in the form of Pay Matrix with Levels of pay arranged in Vertical Cells as assigned corresponding to the existing Pay Band and Grade Pay has been prescribed in Part A (covering all employees mentioned at Sl. No. (i) to (iv) in para 1 read with para 2 except the officers), in Part B (covering the officers of the organisations at Sl. No. (i) to (iv) in Para 1 read with para 2) and in Part C (covering all employees and officers of West Bengal Council of Rabindra Open Schooling) of Schedule-II.

4. For the purpose of this Memorandum, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) “existing basic pay” means the pay drawn in the prescribed existing Pay Band and Grade Pay but does not include any other type of pay;

(b) “existing Pay Band and Grade Pay” means the running Pay Band and the Grade Pay applicable to the post held by the employee or, as the case may be, the personal scale applicable to such employee on account of his advancement to a higher Pay Band/Grade Pay under specific or general orders of the Government as on 1st day of January, 2016, whether in a substantive or officiating or temporary capacity, and

(c) “existing pay structure” means the present system of Pay Band and Grade Pay applicable to the post held by the employee as on the 1st day of January, 2016 whether in a substantive or officiating capacity or the Pay Band and Grade Pay as personal scale applicable to him on account of his advancement to higher Pay Band/Grade Pay;

Explanation – the expressions “existing basic pay” and “existing Pay Band and Grade Pay” in respect of an employee, who was on the 1st day of January, 2016, on deputation or on foreign service or on leave or who would have on that date officiated in one or more lower posts but for his officiating in a higher post, shall mean such basic pay, Pay Band and Grade Pay applicable to the post which he would have held but for his being on deputation or on foreign service or on leave or officiating in a higher post;

(d) “existing emoluments” means the sum of existing basic pay and existing dearness allowance allowed to the basic pay as on 1st day of January, 2016.

(e) ‘Pay Matrix” means Matrix specified in Schedule-II, with levels of pay arranged in vertical cells as assigned to corresponding existing Pay Band and Grade Pay;

(f) “Level” in the Pay Matrix shall mean the level corresponding to the existing Pay Band and Grade Pay as specified in Schedule-II.

(g) “pay in the Level” means pay drawn in the appropriate Cell of the Level as specified in Schedule-II;

(h) “revised pay structure” means the Pay Matrix and the Level specified therein corresponding to the existing Pay Band and Grade Pay of the post unless a different revised level is notified separately for the post;

(i) “basic pay” in the revised pay structure means the pay drawn in the prescribed Level in the Pay Matrix;

(j) “revised emoluments” means the pay in the Level of an employee in the revised pay structure;

(k) “Schedule” means schedule appended to this Memorandum;

(l) “Officer” means an officer of any State-aided University, West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, West Bengal Board of Madrasah Education & West Bengal Council of Rabindra Open Schooling, holding approved regular post.

5. Level of posts

From the date of commencement of this Memorandum, the Level of posts shall be determined in accordance with the various Levels as assigned to the corresponding existing Pay Band and Grade Pay as specified in the Pay Matrix.

6. Date of effect and fixation of pay in the revised pay structure

The revised pay structure as mentioned in para 3 above shall be deemed to have come into force from the 1st day of January, 2016 but actual payment shall be made from the 1st day of January, 2020, after notional fixation of pay in the revised pay structure with effect from 01.01.2016 or from any subsequent date according to the option to be exercised by the employee/officer.

7. Exercise of option:

(a) For coming under the revised pay structure an employee/officer shall have to exercise option in writing in the form in Schedule-III so as to reach the respective Head of Offices within 90 (ninety) days from the date of issue of this Memorandum.

Provided that –

(i) he may take opportunity of drawing next increment or any subsequent increment in the existing pay structure after 1st January, 2016 upto 25th September, 2019 and thereafter may opt for the revised pay structure from the date of such increment.

(ii) where he has been placed in a higher Pay Band and or higher Grade Pay between 1st January, 2016 and 25.09.2019 on account of promotion or non-functional movement, he may opt to come under the revised pay structure with effect from the date of final fixation of pay on account of such promotion or non-functional movement, as the case may be.

Note – No option shall lie on any date of increment that fell due after the date of promotion or non-functional movement which took place between the dates mentioned in (ii) of this proviso.

Illustration: In case an employee/officer has got promotion/non-functional movement on 18.11.2016. He is not eligible to exercise option to come under the revised pay structure from 01.07.2017 or 01.07.2018 or 01.07.2019. He is eligible to exercise such option only on 01.01.2016 or 01.07.2016 or 18.11.2016.

(b) The option to be exercised under the provisions mentioned above shall further be guided by the following provisions:-

(i) An employee/officer who on the date of issue of this Memorandum is on leave or on deputation or on foreign service, the said option shall be exercised in writing so as to reach the concerned Head of Office within 90 days of his return from such leave or deputation or foreign service;

(ii) An employee/officer who is under suspension on the date of issue of this Memorandum shall exercise the said option so as to reach the Head of Office within 90 days of his return to duty/reinstatement;

(iii) The option once exercised shall be final;

(iv) If an employee/officer who was in service after 31st December, 2015 and to whom the provisions of this Memorandum apply, does not exercise option under Para 7 (a) above within the stipulated period, he shall be deemed to have elected to be governed by the revised pay structure with effect from the 1st January, 2016; and

(v) An employee/officer who died on or after the 1st day of January, 2016 and could not exercise the option within the prescribed period shall be deemed to have exercised option for the revised pay structure on and from the 1st January, 2016 or from such subsequent date as is considered most beneficial to him, if he was alive.

8. Fixation of initial pay in the revised pay-structure:

(1) The initial pay of an employee/officer who elects or is deemed to have elected under Para 7 of this Memorandum to be governed by the revised pay structure on and form the 1st January, 2016, shall be fixed in the following manner:-

The pay in the applicable level in the Pay Matrix of an employee/officer who continued in service after 31st December, 2015 shall be determined notionally as on 1st day of January, 2016 or on any date thereafter as per option exercised by him, by way of multiplying his existing basic pay by a factor of 2.57, rounding off to the nearest rupee and the figure so arrived at will be located in that Level in the Pay Matrix and if such an identical figure corresponds to any Cell in the applicable Level in the Pay Matrix, the same shall be the pay and if no such Cell is available in the applicable Level, the pay shall be fixed at the immediate next higher Cell in that applicable Level of the Pay Matrix.

Provided that if the minimum pay or the first Cell in the applicable Level is higher than the amount so arrived at, the pay shall be fixed at the minimum pay or at the first Cell of that applicable Level.

Illustration:

An employee drawing a Basic Pay of Rs. 8,010/- in the existing PB-I with Grade Pay of Rs.1800/- has opted for fixation of his pay in the revised pay structure. His pay under the revised pay structure will be fixed in the following manner:

(2) Fixation of pay in the revised pay structure shall further be guided under the following conditions:

(i) An employee/officer under suspension, shall continue to draw subsistence allowance based on existing pay structure and his pay in the revised pay structure shall be subject to the final order on the pending disciplinary proceedings.

(ii) Where the amount of existing emoluments exceeds the revised emoluments in respect of any employee/officer, the difference amount shall be allowed as personal pay to be absorbed in future increases in pay.

(iii) Where in the fixation of pay under sub-para (1) of this paragraph, the pay of an employee/officer, who immediately before the 1st day of January, 2016, was drawing more pay in the existing pay structure than another employee/officer junior to him in the same cadre, gets fixed in the revised pay structure in a Cell lower than that of such junior, his pay shall be stepped up to the same Cell in the revised pay structure as that of the junior with the approval of the Government.

(iv) In the case where a senior employee/officer promoted to a higher post before the 1st pay of January, 2016, draws less pay in the revised pay structure than his junior who is promoted to the higher post on or after the 1st day of January, 2016, the pay in the revised pay structure of senior employee/officer shall be stepped up to an amount equal to the pay as fixed for his junior in that higher post. The stepping up shall be done with the approval of the Government with effect from the date of promotion of the junior employee/officer subject to the fulfilment of the following conditions:

a) both the junior and the senior employee/officer should belong to the same cadre, and the posts in which they have been promoted should be identical in the same cadre;

b) the pre-revised Pay Band and Grade Pay and the revised Level of the lower and higher posts in which they are entitled to draw pay should be identical;

c) the senior employee/officer at the time of promotion should have been drawing equal or more pay than the junior;

d) the anomaly should arise directly as a result of the application of the provisions of the normal or any other rule or order regulating fixation of pay on such promotions in the revised pay structure. Provided that if the junior was drawing more pay in the existing pay structure than the senior by virtue of any advance increments granted to him, the provisions set out above shall not be applicable to step up the pay of the senior.

9. Fixation of pay in revised pay structure of employees appointed as fresh recruits on or after 1st day of January, 2016:

The pay of direct recruits of a particular post carrying a specific Pay Level shall be fixed on or after the 1st day of January, 2016, at the first Cell in the Pay Level applicable for the post.

Provided that where the emoluments in the pre-revised pay structure i.e. sum total of the basic in the pre-revised pay structure plus dearness allowance applicable from the date of joining, exceeds the minimum pay in the revised pay structure as applicable for
the post to which he is appointed on or after 01.01.2016 such difference shall be treated as personal pay to be absorbed in future increments in pay.

10. Increments in Pay Matrix:

After fixation of pay in the appropriate Level in the Pay Matrix, the subsequent increment in the Level shall be at the immediate next higher Cell vertically arranged in that Level.

Illustration:

11. Date of next increment in revised pay structure.

In respect of all employees, there shall be a uniform date of annual increment, as existing now and such date of annual increment shall be the 1st day of July of every year.

Note – In the case an employee completing 6 (six) months and above in the revised pay structure as on 1st day of July, shall be eligible to be granted increment.

12. Fixation of pay on promotion on or after the 1st day of January, 2016 to a post carrying higher Level:

The fixation of pay in case of promotion from one level to another in the revised pay structure shall be made in the following manner, namely:-

(i) One increment shall be given in the Level from which the employee is promoted and he shall be placed at a Cell equal to the figure so arrived at in the Level of the post to which promoted and if no such Cell is available in the Level to which promoted, he shall be placed at the next higher Cell in that Level.

Illustration:

If an employee drawing pay of Rs.31800/- in Level – 5 is promoted (either regular promotion or promotion under CAS) to Level-6 in the revised pay structure, his pay will be fixed in the following manner:

Note 1:- An employee may have option to get his pay fixed either from the date of promotion or from the date of next increment.

(a) In case the employee opts to get his pay fixed from the date of promotion, his pay in the promotion post shall be fixed under the provisions of this para and his next increment will fall due on the 1st July on completion of atleast six months from the date of such promotion.

(b) In case the employee opts to get his pay fixed from the date of increment, then on the date promotion his pay shall initially be fitted in the applicable level of the promotion post at the same Cell as that of his existing pay and in absence of such Cell, it shall be fitted at the next higher Cell and such pay shall finally be refixed under the provisions of this para after accrual of increment in the lower post. The next increment shall, however, fall due on the next 1st July.

13. Fixation of pay relating to non-functional promotion under CAS on or after 01.01.2016:

(1) In the case of non-functional movement under CAS when an employee is moved to next higher Level(i) on completion of 10 years of service without getting any promotion or (ii) on completion of 20 years of service with only one promotion/movement, he may have option to get his pay fixed either from the date of entitlement straightway or from the date of next increment.

(a) If the employee opts to get his pay fixed from the date of entitlement, one increment shall be given in the existing Level and he shall be placed at a Cell equal to the figure so arrived at in the Level to which he is moved and if no such Cell is available in the Level to which he is moved, he shall be placed at the next higher Cell in that Level.

(b) If the employee opts to get his pay fixed from the date of next increment, then there will be no interim pay fixation on the date of entitlement. On the date of next increment after allowing the normal annual increment the provisions as at (a) above will be followed.

(2) In case an employee has got promotion to a post carrying Pay Level equal to 2nd higher Level or above before completion of 20 years of service, he will, on completion of 20 years of service, get one increment in the same Level without moving to further higher Level. His date of next increment shall, however, remain unchanged.

(3) In case an employee has got promotion to a post carrying lower Level than the Level he is enjoying due to CAS, he will get one increment in the same Level from the date of such promotion with date of next increment remaining unchanged.

14. Dearness Allowance:

The employees/officers who will come under the revised pay structure will get dearness allowance at the same rate as will be prescribed by the State Government from time to time for State Government employees.

15. Medical Allowance:

(1) The employees/officers who are getting medical allowance of Rs.300/- per month shall draw medical allowance at the rate of Rs.500/- per month with effect from 01.01.2020.

16. House Rent Allowance:

(1) With effect from 01.01.2020, the house rent allowance admissible to an employee/officer shall be 12% of his revised basic pay in the revised pay structure subject to a maximum of Rs.12000/- per month. The ceiling of house rent allowance drawn by husband and wife together shall be raised to Rs.12000/- per month.

(2) All other conditions regarding drawal of house rent allowance and recovery of rent/license fee shall continue to apply.

17. Other Allowance:

Until further orders are issued revising the rates of other allowance, the employees/officers shall continue to draw the amount of allowance at the same rate and scale as they drew on their unrevised basic pay till 31st December, 2019, after they have opted to come under the revised pay structure.

18. Payment of arrears:

Notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in this Memorandum, or in any other rules or order for the time being in force, no arrears of pay to which an employee may be entitled in respect of the period from the 1st day of January, 2016 to the 31st day of December, 2019, shall be paid to the employee.

19. (a) Concerned Universities/Council/Board will make amendments to their Statutes/Ordinance/Rules etc. where necessary, for incorporation of the provision of this Memorandum therein.

(b) Anomalies and difficulties, if any, in the implementation of the provisions of this Memorandum may be brought to the notice of Finance Department through the respective controlling departments.

Schedule-I

1. University of Calcutta.
2. Jadavpur University.
3. Burdwan University.
4. Kalyani University.
5. Rabindra Bharati University.
6. North Bengal University.
7. Vidyasagar University.
8. West Bengal State University.
9. Gour Banga University.
10. Presidency University.
11. Sidhu-Kanho Birsha University.
12. Cooch-Behar Panchanan Barma University.
13. Diamond Hourbour Women’s University.
14. Kari Nazrul University.
15. Bankura University.
16. Raiganj University.
17. Sanskrit College and University
18. Netaji Subhas Open University.
19. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology.
20. West Bengal University of Teacher’s Training, Education Planning and Administration.
21. Aliah University.
22. Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya.
23. West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences.
24. Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya.
25. West Bengal University of Health Sciences.

Schedule-II
(Part-A)
Pay Matrix for the common category employees of the Universities/Boards/Council

Schedule-II
(Part-B)
Pay Matrix for the Officers of Universities/ Boards/ Councils

N.B.: Officers of the Universities who are not covered under UGC/ AICTE/ ICAR Regulations and are drawing Grade Pay of Rs.6000/-, Rs.7000/- & Rs.8000/- shall be allowed to be fitted in Level 1, Level 2 & Level 3 respectively.

Schedule-II
(Part-C)
Admissible Pay Matrix for the posts of officers/employees of the West Bengal Council of Rabindra Open Schooling.

By order of the Governor

Sd/- H.K. Dwivedi
Additional Chief Secretary to the
Government of West Bengal

No. 16-F dated 02.01.2020, Source