The salary increment and other allowances for public servants proposed by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera in his budget 2019 is effective from today (July 01). Accordingly, all public servants will receive an additional monthly allowance of Rs 2500.00,allowance for security forces will be increased, anomalies of 500,000 pensioners will be removed, allowance for the differently abled will be increased and the number of recipients of Kidney patients’ allowance will be increased. The Government has allocated a total sum of Rs.40, 000 million for this purpose.
Under the public servants’ salary increment, 1.1 million public servants are entitled to receive an Interim Allowance of Rs.2, 500/= effective today. The Government spend Rs.20, 000 million to pay this allowance. Although the payment of this Interim Allowance is implemented effective today, the cost of living allowance of Rs.7, 800 currently being paid to the public servants will be continued as it was.
Meanwhile, another step of increasing payment of allowance for tri forces officers and members of other ranks is implemented from today (July 01). The Government took measures to increase the monthly quota for the tri forces officers and members of other ranks effective last January. Accordingly, approval was given recently to increase the monthly ration quota for the officers up to Rs.23, 231 and for the members of the other ranks up to Rs.19, 350. In addition, the house rent being paid for the tri forces members will be doubled effective today. Simultaneously, the commando allowance for the members in parallel ranks of Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air force will be increased up to Rs.5, 000 from Rs.1, 000 effective today. The Government spends Rs.1, 175 million for this purpose. Certain allowances that have been increased for the members of the tri forces effective July 1st were stagnated at the same point for the last 20 years.
In addition, the budget proposal to remove the pensioners’ salary anomaly will be effective from today. Accordingly, the pension of over 5 hundred thousand public servants who retired before December 31, 2015 will be increased by a minimum sum of Rs.2, 800 and a Maximum amount of Rs.20, 000. At the same time, the cost of living allowance of Rs.3, 250 being paid to the pensioners will be paid continuously. The Government has allocated Rs.12, 000 million to settle this salary anomaly of pensioners.
In addition, the proposal to increase the monthly allowance for differently abled to Rs.5, 000 from Rs.3, 000 will also be implemented from today. Accordingly, in addition to the 32,000 differently abled persons who are already entitled to receive this allowance, together with another 40,000 on the waiting list, a total number of 72,000 differently abled persons will be paid this monthly allowance from today Rs 5000.00 each. The Government has allocated Rs.4, 350 million for this purpose.
The Government has already been paying a monthly allowance of Rs.5, 000 each to 21,000 chronically ill kidney patients. A large number of similar patients are on the waiting list to receive this monthly allowance. Therefore, another 5,000 patients will receive this allowance effective today. The Government has allocated Rs.1, 840 for this purpose.
Accordingly, the Government will spend Rs.39, 365 million to pay all these salaries and allowances. Payment of these salaries and allowances are implemented today.