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irse
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India
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 Posted - 07/31/2009 : 06:24:17
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http://timesofindia .indiatimes. com/NEWS/ City/Nagpur/ No-takers- for-railway- quarters/ articleshow/ 4839431.cms
31 July 2009, 04:47am IST
NAGPUR: With railway employees getting fatter pay packets under sixth pay commission, there is now low demand for staff quarters in Ajni, one of the biggest railway colonies in the city. Railway sources said that railway employees were increasingly going in for own houses as they can afford larger EMIs.
On an average, there is 60% to 80% rise in pay of employees including the rise in house rent allowance (HRA) by over 100%. According to officials, 240 quarters are vacant in Ajni colony. Six months ago the number was 214. However, this doesn't include the low-profile K-Type quarters, whose number may be over 100. In Ajni, no new quarters have come up in the recent years.
Considering that there are over 2,700 quarters in Guard Lines and Ajni railway colonies, the number of vacant quarters seems low. However, officials say it is still indicative of the fact that demand is dropping, thanks to handsome HRA employees get at Nagpur which is A' grade city. An employee does not get HRA if he lives in railway quarter.
"On an average, HRA of Group C & D staffers is between Rs 1,500-4,500 after salary hike. Employees prefer buying own house by taking housing loans and pay instalment with the help of HRA. They also get income-tax relief. Employees are not interested in quarters," officials said. D K Sharma, divisional railway manager (DRM) of Central Railway, admits that in big cities like Nagpur and Mumbai demand for quarters has gone down. But, he says, situation is opposite at smaller stations where staff still prefers quarters near stations and where people prefer not to settle down. Under sixth pay commission, all Group D posts have been converted into Group C and subsequently the status of quarters also needs to be upgraded. Group D employees were allotted 250 sq feet K-Type quarters but will now get Type II quarters of 550 sq feet. Sharma said, "All K-Type quarters are being phased out, but it will take some time. We have stopped allotting them. In the last two
years, 155 Type-II quarters have been constructed while another 173 quarters are under construction. There is sanction for 88 quarters this year."
Many employees complained that despite demand, administration was not allotting K-Type quarters in Guard Lines. Sharma explains that it was because K-type quarters have low ceiling. "It is better to construct new quarters than maintain old ones. Being near the station, there will always be demand for them but we want to phase them out."
Official sources say the Central Railway has demolished around 200 K-Type quarters so far.
In Ajni, 140 such quarters have been allotted to 70 staffers by merging two quarters into one. However, the same is not being done in Guard Lines.
Officials say although Group D employees are now in Group C, giving all of them suitable accommodation may take years considering meagre fund allocation.
Rajendra Saxena
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railway staff & QRs
