it2025_00138 — In this case, payment of HRA prior to 5-3-2019 i.e. with effect from 1-1-2018 is remitted back to the departmental authorities to take a final decision and following the favourable decision taken in a similar issue in O.A. No. 365/2015 disposed by the Tribunal favourable to the Applicant therein as said decisions are applicable in the present case also

In this case, payment of HRA prior to 5-3-2019 i.e. with effect from 1-1-2018 is remitted back to the departmental authorities to take a final decision and following the favourable decision taken in a similar issue in O.A. No. 365/2015 disposed by the Tribunal favourable to the Applicant therein as said decisions are applicable in the present case also — This chunk is part of a legal case, OA No. 040/00422 of 2019, concerning five employees working in Central Water Commission who were receiving House Rent Allowance (HRA) prior to 5-3-2019 while resid... — Facts:There are 5 Applicants in this OA and all of them are working in Central Water Commission under the office of Superintending Engineer / Executive Engineers, etc. of Central Water Commission (CWC). Applicants are residing in different places of Guwahati either in rented house or in their own house getting HRA till the allotment of house by the department due to shifting of offices of CWC and departmental constructions of houses. It is stated that the houses are allotted to the Applicants due to availability of departmental accommodation. In some cases of the similarly placed employees, the HRA had already been stopped. This OA is filed by the Applicants to continue to stay in the houses they are now staying and hence HRA is to be paid since they have not occupied the allotted departmental houses. The main prayer in this OA is to allow the Applicants to stay where they are staying without forcing them to occupy departmental houses and continue to pay HRA since they have not occupied the departmental houses allotted. Applicants state that their grievance had already been decided by the Tribunal in O.A. No. 365/2015 wherein similarly placed employees were allowed to continue in the rented houses thereby HRA was not stopped. Further, the department has no jurisdiction to impose compulsory occupations of Government residential quarters or stoppage of HRA in violation of Rule 7

(i) of the aforesaid rules. Hence the order of not paying HRA is against the rules. Applicants, rely on two OMs one, dated 5-3-2019 by Ministry of Finance and the other, dated 8-4-2019. OM, dated 5-3-2019 states that “the conditions of applying for Government Accommodation Certificate by Central Government employees to become eligible for House Rent Allowance are disposed of with all places in respect of General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA) controlled by Directorate of Estates.” Similar OM, dated 8-4-2019 had been issued by Ministry of Urban Affairs. In view of the above, the Applicants cannot be denied HRA if they have not occupied Government accommodation. Tribunal heard the Counsel of the Applicants and also noted order passed in similar cases earlier in O.A. No. 040/00010/2018 and 040/00186/2018. Based on the above Tribunal observed Paras. 12 and 13 vide which OA is disposed of as under: