1.  Title & Scope
The rules shall be called the SJVNL House Rent Allowance Rules.

2. Definitions:
In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires:

2.1 ‘Company’ means the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam limited, including the Projects/Offices under its management.

2.2 ‘Local employee’ means an employee who has got his residence within a radius of 8 Kms. from the concerned project or the office of posting, which is owned either by himself and/or by his dependant family members. If any employee who was a land oustee and/or his family member has been given plot/plots of land or built in residence or any other facility for purpose of rehabilitation by the Company, then he will also be deemed as a local employee for the purpose of these rules.

2.3 ‘Employee’ means a person appointed against a regular post and includes probationers and deputationists, but excludes Apprentices, Temporary, Casual, Muster Roll, Daily rated employees.

2.4 ‘Family’ means the wife or husband, as the case may be, parents, children, step children, legally adopted children, wards taken under the Wards Act, brothers or sisters as ordinarily may reside with and are dependant on the employee.

2.5 ‘Government/Government Agency’ means Central Government, State Government, Autonomous Public Undertakings or semi-Government Organization such as Municipality, Port Trust, Nationalized Banks, Life Insurance Corporation of India, etc.

2.6 ‘Pay’ means Basic Pay drawn by the employees and any other pay specified for this purpose.

2.7 ‘Non-family station’ means such site/place which due to inadequacy of basic facilities/harsh climatic conditions is declared as non-family station with the approval of the Board. Project location of KHEP,TPHEP,JTHEP and Nathpa in HP and Project location of Uttrakhand have been declared as ‘Non-family station’.

3. Rate of HRA:
The rates of HRA as per classification of cities shall be as under :-

4. Eligibility:
1. The House Rent Allowance (HRA) will be admissible to:

1. An employee who has not been allotted accommodation (including lease accommodation) by the Company

2. Both husband & wife, who are employed by the Company/Government/Government Agencies and living in hired/owned accommodation.

3. Employee living in a house owned/rented by him or his family.

4. Employees posted at project and who have not been allotted family accommodation and in lieu is living in shared/bachelor accommodation, for retaining family, subject to approval by Head of Project. The rate of HRA in such cases will be the rate applicable to the place where he is allowed to retain family. In case employee is not claiming HRA for retaining his family in such cases HRA will be paid at the rate as applicable to the place of posting.

5. Employee posted at non-family station has discretion to retain his family at a place of his choice. The rate of HRA in such cases will be the rate applicable to the place where he is allowed to retain his spouse and dependant children.

The employee shall furnish a certificate in the prescribed form given in Annexure for claiming HRA.

2.  The employee shall not be entitled for HRA, if:

1. He/she shares the Company’s accommodation allotted to any other employee of the Company on his own.
2. He/She resides in the accommodation (including lease accommodation) allotted to his/her family member by the Company, Government or other Govt. Agency.
3. If both the spouse are posted at the same station and one of the spouse has been allotted accommodation (including lease accommodation) at the same station by Company, Govt. or other Agencies whether he/she resides in that accommodation or not.

5.  Conditions:
1.  The employees posted at places where the Company accommodation is available and who are eligible for Company’s accommodation, the HRA will be admissible only if he/she has applied for such accommodation but same has not been provided.

2.  While the Company shall always endeavor to provide entitled accommodation to the employees, however, in case of non-availability of entitled accommodation, employees will have to accept accommodation one category below his entitlement and in case the accommodation so offered is not accepted for any reason, the HRA shall not be admissible.

3.  The HRA at Project will not be payable when an employee (except local employees) chooses to live in private accommodation for his own convenience or because the accommodation offered is not acceptable.

6.  HRA on Suspension:
HRA will be admissible in full to the employees during suspension provided the disciplinary authority is satisfied that the employee is not engaged in any other employment/business/profession/vocation.

7. HRA to Deputationist:
The House Rent Allowance in case of employees who are in continued occupation of accommodation allotted to them by lending organisations before their deputation to the Company will be regulated as follows:

House rent allowance will be paid as actual, limited to the rates and subject to the conditions contained in rule 3 subject to further production of proof of payment of rent.

8. HRA on Transfer:
Employees who are not in occupation of Company leased accommodation and are drawing HRA at admissible rates will, in the event of their transfer from one place to another, be entitled to house rent allowance as under, provided they retain the accommodation at the previous place of posting.

In either case, the grant of the allowance under this provision shall not be admissible beyond the date on which an employee is allotted Company’s accommodation for family at the new place of posting.

9. HRA on Superannuation:
An Employee on his superannuation shall be entitled to HRA for a maximum period of three months subject to the following conditions:

1. The employee should have served the Company continuously for at least 10 years on the date of superannuation, in case the continuous service is less than 10 (ten) years, HRA will be paid for 2 months.
2. No House Rent Allowance as aforesaid shall, however, be payable if such an employee has been living in the accommodation owned by him or any member of his family.
3. House Rent Allowance on superannuation, to such employees shall be payable only if such employees, on the date of superannuation, vacate the company accommodation, if occupied.

1. If an employee in receipt of house rent allowance expires, the allowance may be paid up to a period of four months to the family members who were residing with the deceased employee, provided they continue to reside in the same residential accommodation.
2. The amount of HRA shall not exceed that last drawn by the employee immediately before his death.
3. HRA would not be admissible if the family resides in a house owned by the deceased employee or any member of his family.

11. Director (P)/CMD is empowered to interpret/clarify the above rules.