GAD rejects PSC chief’s request for allowance

Thiruvananthapuram: The General Administration Department on Tuesday rejected PSC chairman M.K. Sakeer’s plea for travel allowance for his spouse during official visits. The department pointed out that even ministers do not have such facility. Now, only the expenses of spouses of the chief justice, justices of the High Court, governor and chief minister during official visits are met from the public exchequer.

The department comes under Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Accor-ding to sources, the file has been sent to Mr Vijayan, who will return to the state next week after his European trip. A final decision on the issue is likely to be taken by the chief minister’s office.

Mr Sakeer who has a salary of over Rs 1.5 lakh per month is given an official car with driver and petrol allowance by the state government. He is also entitled to DA which is similar to that fixed for IAS officers by the central government. The PSC chairman uses two official cars, it is learnt.

“The PSC has not suffered any financial loss due to this as the fuel intake is less than that of previous chairmen," his office said.

He had made a note on the reimbursement on April 30. PSC secretary Saju George subsequently handed over the request to the GAD. In other states, the government bears the expenses of the spouse of the PSC chief accompanying him in official journeys as she is also invited to various official programmes, including the meetings of PSC chairmen of various states and standing council meetings.