New Delhi, January 16: The officers of the Supreme Court will now get ‘washing allowance’ of up to Rs 21,000 per annum which is more than what the officers of Army, Navy and Air Force get yearly for their dress and its maintenance.
The soldiers of the armed forces and the paramilitary forces, CRPF and BSF, get Rs 10,000 a year to buy their uniform and wash them. The officers of the apex court will now get a washing allowance of Rs 1,750 per month, a report in the Times of India said.
As per the finance ministry’s order, the non-clerical staff of the top court will get a washing allowance of Rs 1,350 per month and remaining staff will get Rs 1,250 per month. The washing allowance for the staff will be effective from December 14, 2017.
After the seventh pay commission award, the government has merged the washing allowance given to soldiers and officers along with the money granted for buying uniforms. As per the new scales, the composite dress and washing allowance to the Special Protection Group (SPG) officers was fixed at Rs 21,225-27,800 per annum.
For the officers of the Army, Air Force and Navy, it has been fixed at Rs 20,000 per annum. The officers of the Delhi Police and DANIP service get dress and washing allowance of Rs 15,000 annually.
Prior to the seventh pay commission award, soldiers and officers were allowed several allowances in the form of clothing allowance, initial equipment allowance, kit maintenance allowance, robe allowance, robe maintenance allowance, shoe allowance, uniform allowance and washing allowance. All these have now been subsumed in a single dress allowance.
In 2017, an apex court bench had asked the government to look into the demands made by the staff for a washing allowance.