WB Pay Commission: For government employees, ‘Pay Commission’ is a widely familiar term. Most of us are aware of the long-standing numerical gap between the Central Government and West Bengal Government’s Pay Commissions. Currently, Central Government employees and pensioners draw their salaries and allowances under the 7th Central Pay Commission (7th CPC), while preparations for the 8th Pay Commission are actively advancing. On the other hand, West Bengal is still operating under the 6th Pay Commission or ROPA-2019.
However, the key question is: where did this numerical discrepancy originate? Why is West Bengal still at the 6th Pay Commission while the Centre has progressed to the 7th? To uncover the answer, we must trace back to pre-independence administrative history.
Table of Contents
Inception of the Central Pay Commission
The journey of the Central Pay Commission began prior to India’s independence.
- First Commission: In May 1946, India’s First Pay Commission was established under the chairmanship of Srinivasa Varadachariar to review and restructure the pay and allowances of government employees.
- Report Submission: The commission submitted its final report on April 30, 1947, just months before Independence.
- Pay Structure: It was resolved that the revised pay scales would take effect from April 1, 1946. Taking the 1944 cost-of-living index (102) as the baseline, the minimum pay was fixed at ₹55 and the maximum at ₹2,000.
This marked the beginning of Central Pay Commissions, followed successively by the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th Central Pay Commissions.
West Bengal’s Pay Realignment and the Initial Gap
In West Bengal, the trajectory of pay commissions for state government employees took a distinct turn, which holds the root cause of this numerical disparity.
In December 1944, on the directive of the Governor of Bengal, the “Bengal Administrative Enquiry Committee” was constituted. Chaired by Sir Archibald Rowlands, the committee was tasked with administrative reforms alongside resolving employee salary issues. The committee submitted its report in 1945, and following independence, the West Bengal Government implemented its recommendations effective from April 1, 1950.
Crucially, despite revising the pay structure based on this committee’s recommendations, the Government of West Bengal never officially designated it as the “1st Pay Commission”. This pivotal decision formed the original numerical gap between the Centre and the State.
West Bengal’s 1st Commission vs. Central 2nd Pay Commission
A closer look at subsequent commissions clarifies this timeline even further:
- Central 2nd Pay Commission: Constituted in August 1957 and submitted its report in August 1959, using 1949=100 as the base year and a price index of 118.
- West Bengal 1st Pay Commission: Formed on August 16, 1959, under the chairmanship of retired ICS officer B. Das. Notably, this commission’s base year and price indices were aligned precisely with the Central 2nd Pay Commission.
In other words, while the Centre was rolling out its Second Pay Commission for that prevailing economic scenario, West Bengal instituted its First Pay Commission on the exact same economic foundation.
Current Scenario and Conclusion
| Period / Phase | Central Government | West Bengal Government |
|---|---|---|
| 1946 – 1950 | 1st Pay Commission | Unrecognized (Rowlands Committee) |
| 1959 – 1961 | 2nd Pay Commission | 1st Pay Commission |
| Present Day | 7th CPC (8th CPC in preparation) | 6th Pay Commission (ROPA-2019) |
Subsequently, West Bengal implemented ROPA-1981 (2nd), ROPA-1990 (3rd), ROPA-1998 (4th), ROPA-2009 (5th), and ROPA-2019 (6th).
Therefore, the numerical divergence between the Central and State Pay Commissions is not due to any recent oversight; rather, it is a historical legacy of administrative classification. The decision in 1944 not to officially designate the Rowlands Committee as a formal ‘Pay Commission’ is why West Bengal remains one count behind the Centre.
