Supreme Court's law officers to get Rs 21,000 yearly as washing allowance

NEW DELHI: Officers of Supreme Court will now get ‘washing allowance’ of up to Rs 21,000 per annum, almost equal to a composite dress and washing allowance granted to the Special Protection Group and more than what officers of the Army, Air Force and Navy get every year for their dress and its maintenance.

At Rs 10,000 a year, soldiers of the armed forces and paramilitary forces, the CRPF and the BSF get far less to buy uniforms and wash them. Unlike the troops, officers of the apex court, including the topranking secretary general, will now get a washing allowance of Rs 1,750 a month.

According to a finance ministry order, the non-clerical staff of the Supreme Court will get a washing allowance of Rs 1,350 a month and the remaining staff Rs 1,250 per month. The new allowance will be effective from December 14, 2017.

After the seventh pay commission award, the government merged the washing allowance given to soldiers and officers along with the money granted for buying uniforms.

The washing allowance to the SC staff came after much haggling, with the Centre arguing that after the seventh pay panel they are allowed only for troops when subsumed with the dress allowance.

Prior to the pay panel 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.