T'PURAM: The pay scale fixed for the newly formed Kerala Administrative Services has irked the All India Services (AIS) officers including IAS, IPS and IFS officials posted in the state.
As per the Cabinet decision, the KAS officer at the entry level would draw a basic pay of Rs 81,800 with a 10 per cent grade pay and other allowances including dearness allowance, house rent allowances, etc.
In a representation to the chief minister, the IAS Officers Association sought to revoke the decision before issuing the cabinet decision as a government order.
"The new scale of pay fixed for the KAS officials is higher than what was recommended for them by the state finance commission. This is also much higher than the scale of all India service officers. Fixing of such scale would bring in an anomaly in district administration and create difficulties in managing the hierarchy. Therefore, we humbly request that the chief secretary may discuss the issue with the All India service associations before issue of final orders in the matter," the association said.
According to the senior All India service officers, the cabinet decision has overlooked the recommendations of the 11th Pay Commission. The recommendation suggested that the pay scales of KAS officers should be fixed without upsetting the administrative hierarchy.
Further, the pay scale of KAS junior time scale should be fixed lower than what is fixed for the AIS officers at the same level, they said.