Central
Government Rules and Regulations
Leave Travel Concession (LTC) Rules:
Leave Travel
Concession (LTC) is granted to Central Government employees for
travel to various parts of the country and home as well.
Who is eligible for LTC:
Any employee with
one year of continuous service on the date of journey performed by him/his
family is eligible. Employees whose spouses are working in
Indian Railways/National Airlines are not eligible for LTC.
Types of LTC:
1.
LTC to home town.
2.
LTC to anywhere in India.
3.
LTC to fresh recruits.
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1.
LTC to Home town:
·
Admissible to all employees irrespective of
distance between head quarters and his home town.
·
Admissible once in a block of two calendar
years. The present blocks are 2022-23, 2023-24 and so on.
· An employee whose family lives away from his
headquarters can avail this concession for himself every year in lieu of all
concession.
·
Govt. employees whose head quarters and home
town are same are not eligible for home town LTC.
2.
LTC to anywhere in India:
·
LTC is admissible in lieu of one of the two
concessions to home town in a block of four years.
·
The present block of LTC is 2019 – 2022.
·
Officials availing LTC to home town for self
alone every year are entitled to LTC to any place in India.
3.
LTC to fresh requites:
·
Fresh recruits are allowed to travel their home
town along with their families on three occasions in a block of four years and
to any place in India on the fourth occasion. The facility is available for
first two blocks of four years after joining the Government for the first time.
· On completion of eight years they will be
treated at par with other regular employees.
· No carry over of LTC is allowed for a fresh
recruit. A fresh recruit whose home town and Head quarters are same cannot
avail LTC to home town.
Block years and
carry forward of LTC:
A Government servant and his family
may avail LTC in different groups at different times during a block year of two
or four years. The concession will be counted against the block of two or four
year within which the outward journey commenced.
A Government servant who is unable
to avail LTC within a particular block of two or four years can avail the same
within the first year of the next block of two or four years.
In respect of officials entitled to
Home town LTC, the concession can be carried forward to the first year of the
next block only if the official is entitled to a carried forward LTC to Home
town for that year.
The Government servant and his
family can visit either the same place or different places.
These rules shall not apply to:
(a)
Government servants not in whole-time employment;
(b)
Persons in casual and daily rated employment;
(c)
Persons paid from contingencies;
(d)
Railway servants;
(e)
Members of the Armed Forces;
(f)
Local recruits in Indian Missions abroad; and
(g) Persons
eligible to any other form of travel concession available during leave or otherwise.
Explanations:
1. The restriction of the concession to only two surviving
children or step children shall not be applicable in respect of ( i) those
employees who already have more than two children prior to the coming into
force of this restriction i.e. 20.10.1997; (ii) children born within one year
of the coming into force of this restriction; (iii) where the number of
children exceeds two as a result of second child birth resulting in multiple
births.
2. Not more than one wife is included in the term
"Family" for the purpose of these Rules. However, if a Government
servant has two legally wedded wives and the second marriage is with the
specific permission of the Government, the second wife shall also be included
in the definition of "Family".
3. Though it is not necessary for the spouse and children to
reside with the Government servant so as to be eligible for the Leave Travel
Concession, the concession in their cases shall, however, be restricted to the
actual distance traveled or the distance between the headquarters/place of
posting of the Government servant and the hometown/place of visit, whichever is
less.
4. Children of divorced, abandoned, separated from their
husbands or widowed sisters are not included in the term "Family".
5. A member of the family whose income from all sources,
including pension, temporary increase in pension but excluding dearness relief
on pension or stipend etc. does not exceed Rs.1500 p.m. is deemed to be wholly
dependent on the Government servant.
(e) "Hometown" means the town,
village or any other place declared as such by the Government servant and
accepted by the controlling officer;
(f) "Shortest direct route" shall
have the same meaning as given in Supplementary Rule 30 and orders issued there
under from time to time.
Govt. of India’s Decision:
(1) LTC to a newly married husband of a female Government
servant.
When a female Govt. servant proceeds to her hometown,
availing of the Leave Travel Concession and gets married in the hometown, LTC
may be allowed also to be husband of the female Govt. servant, for the journey
performed by him from the hometown to the headquarters of the female Govt.
servant.
[OM
No. 48/2/65-Ests.(A), dated 2.4.1965]
(2) On the recommendations of Task Force, Govt. have decided
that the existing LTC Scheme for Central Govt. servants as amended from time to
time, shall be modified to the extent indicated below with immediate effect-
(i) Advance on account of LTC may be sanctioned by the Head
of the Office instead of by the Controlling Officer.
(ii) Where the shortest route by which the journey is
required to be performed is disrupted due to accidents or other causes, the
power to grant reimbursement by the actual route travelled may be exercised by
the Controlling Authority, instead of by the Department of Personnel and
Administrative Reforms in consultation with the Ministry of Finance (Department
of Expenditure) as at present.
(iii) LTC to visit hometown in a block of two years and to
any place in India once in four years will be allowed both ways during leave
preparatory to retirement provided the return journey is completed before the
expiry of the leave preparatory to retirement.
[MHA
OM No. 31011/1/77-Ests.(A) dated 1.10.1977]
Change of Hometown: The hometown once declared and accepted by the
controlling officer shall be treated as final. In exceptional circumstances,
the Head of the Department or if the Government servant himself is the Head of
the Department, the Administrative Ministry, may authorise a change in such
declaration provided that such a change shall not be made more than once during
the service of a Government servant.
LTC to officers of autonomous bodies deputed to Central
Government:
The
officers of autonomous bodies deputed to Central Govt. will be treated as
temporary Government servants during the period of their deputation with the
Central Government and allowed Leave Travel Concession accordingly.
LTC to officers of All India Services:
They or the
members of their families will not be entitled to avail of the concessions for
a particular block, if they or the members of their family, had availed of the
concessions from the State Govt. for that block before being deputed to service
in connection with the affairs of the Union. Similarly, on reversion to the
State Govt., they will not be entitled to the concession for a particular block
period, if concessions for that block had been availed of, while the officer
was serving in connection with the affairs of the Union.
The
expenditure incurred on account of Leave Travel Concessions availed of by such
officers and/or their families during the period of their deputation with the
Centre, shall be borne by the Central Govt. and the expenditure on concessions
earned by these officers during the period of their deputation with the Centre
but not availed of during that period, will be borne by the State Govt.
concerned.
(MHA
OM No. 16/1/69-AIS(II), dated 15.7.1969)
Admissibility of LTC to Central Govt. servants deputed to
other than top posts in the Public Sector Undertakings, etc.:
The
deputationists may be given an option either to choose the Leave Travel
Concession admissible to the corresponding employees of the Public Sector
Undertakings or under the Central Govt. Rules, whichever is more favourable to
them. However, a Central Govt. servant deputed to a Public Sector Undertaking
would not be entitled to avail of the LTC from the Public Sector Undertaking
concerned for self and/or his family for the duration of the block of two
years, if he and/or his family, as the case may be, had already availed of the
concession under the Central Govt. during the block; and on reversion if the
Central Govt. employee and/or his family has availed of LTC under the rules of
the Public Sector Undertaking concerned, he would not be entitled to LTC under
the Central Govt. for the duration of the block in which he had already availed
of this concession. There may also be cases where a Govt. servant exercises an
option to avail the LTC under the rules of the Public Sector Undertakings but
could not actually avail the concession during the term of service in the
Undertakings. In such a case, on reversion to Govt. service, the Govt. servant
and his family should be entitled to avail the concession for a particular
block only under the Central Govt. Rules.
(DPAR
OM No. 43/2/60-Ests.(A), dated 7.7.1971)
Reimbursement of Special Supplementary Charges for travel by
Super Fast Express trains:
Doubts have
been expressed as to whether the Special Supplementary Charges levied by the
Railways for travel by Super Fast Express trains in reserved accommodation
could be reimbursed in respect of journeys on Leave Travel Concession. In view
of the provisions of Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure), OM No.
19023/2/73-E.IV(B), dated the 6th August, 1973 (not
reproduced), under which the said special supplementary charges could be
reimbursed for journeys on transfer, it is hereby clarified that those charges
may also be reimbursed in respect of journeys on Leave Travel Concession.
In cases
where the journey for which Leave Travel Concession claim is preferred is
performed otherwise than by rail between places connected by rail and the claim
is restricted to the amount which would have been admissible had the journey
been performed by rail, the amount to be reimbursed shall not include the
Special Supplementary Charges.
(DPAR
OM No. 43/4/73-Ests.(A), dated 7.6.1974)
LTC to officials under suspension:
A question
has been raised whether LTC is admissible during the period of suspension. It
is clarified that a Govt. servant under suspension cannot avail of LTC as he
cannot get any leave including casual leave during the period of suspension. As
he continues to be in service during the period of suspension, members of his
family are entitled to LTC.
LTC to Central Govt. employees deputed to top level posts in
Public Sector Undertakings:
The
undersigned is directed to refer to paragraph 3 (v) of this Department’s OM No.
F. 1 (3)-Est.(P-II)/80, dated 27.7.1981 (not reproduced), which inter alia
provides that while on deputation to a Public Sector Undertaking a Central
Govt. employee will be allowed concessions as admissible to corresponding
employees of the Undertaking. It has now been represented that while under the Central
Govt., LTC is available to Govt. employees, in some of the Public Sector
Undertakings similar concessions are not available.
When a
Central Govt. employee is deputed to a top level post in a Public Sector
Undertaking, where LTC is not available, then he will be eligible for the LTC
as in the case of other Central Govt. employees provided that provision for its
admissibility has been incorporated in the orders placing the employee on
foreign service with the Undertaking concerned. In those Public Sector
Undertakings where the concession is available the deputationist Govt.
employees will be entitled only to those concessions. As regards the Central
Govt. employees already on foreign service with Undertakings, where the
concession is not available, action may be taken in consultation with the
Undertakings concerned to modify suitably the terms and conditions of their
deputation so as to make them eligible for the concession. The cost of the
concession in all such cases will, however, be met by the Undertaking
concerned.
(DOPT
OM No. 2 (16)-Est. (P-II)/82, dated 6.3.1984)
LTC to the Central Govt. employees while on `Study Leave’:
The leave
travel concession is admissible to the Central Govt. employees while on study
leave. In such cases the claim are to be regulated as under”
(a) For Self:
Government
servant can avail LTC from the place of study leave to any place in India/hometown,
subject to the condition that the reimbursement of fare should be restricted to
the fare admissible for travel between his headquarters station to any place in
India/hometown or actual expenditure, whichever is less;
(b) For the Family Members:
(i) When
the family members are staying with the Govt. servant at the place of his study leave: The reimbursement will be as
indicated at (a) above;
(ii) When
not staying at the place of study leave: The reimbursement will be as under the
normal terms and conditions of the LTC Scheme.
(DOPT
OM No. 31011/1/88-Ests.(A), dated 30.3.1988)
LTC when both husband and wife are Government servants and
are residing together:
According
to the definition of family as given under rule 4, which is applicable, in
travel inter alia, for the purpose of admissibility of LTC, the family of a
Government servant includes wife or husband, as the case may be, residing with
the Government servant and children residing with and wholly dependent upon the
Govt. servant. In addition, it includes the parents, sisters and minor
brothers, if residing with and wholly dependent upon the Government servant.
According
to the existing position where both husband and wife are Govt. servants and are
residing together, they constitute one family unit for the purpose of LTC and
only one of them can claim this concession and the other spouse travels as a
member of his/her family. In such a case, the Govt. servants are required to
make a joint declaration of a common hometown, which can be the hometown of
either of the spouses or a third place. Therefore, the spouse who avails the
LTC as member of family of the other could not claim the benefit separately for
his/her own parents or dependent minor brothers and sisters even if they were
residing with him/her. On the other hand, where a couple, both being Govt.
servants, are residing separately can claim the benefit of LTC individually for
their dependent parents, minor brothers and sisters and also declare two
separate places as their respective hometowns. Therefore, the husband and wife
when both are Govt. employees and are staying together suffer from certain
disadvantages inasmuch as they have to declare common hometown and only one of
them can claim the benefit of LTC. The matter has been considered in
consultation with Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure) and it has
been decided that where husband and wife both are Govt. servants, they could,
at their option, choose to declare separate hometown and both of them may claim
the concession separately under the normal provisions of CCS (LTC) Rules in
respect of the members of their respective families subject to the condition
that if husband or wife avails the facility as a member of the family of the
other, he or she will not be entitled for claiming the concession for self
independently. Similarly, the children shall be eligible for the benefit in one
particular block as members of the family of one of the parents only. All other
conditions for admissibility of the LTC shall continue to be applicable as per
normal provisions of the scheme.
The above
decision will be applicable to the journeys performed for availing the LTC
against the block years 1990-91 onwards.
(DOPT
OM No. 31011/8/89-Est.(A), dated 8.5.1990)
LTC facility for an escort accompanying single handicapped
Government servant:
It has been decided that LTC facility could be allowed for
an escort who accompanies a handicapped Govt. servant on the journey subject to
the following conditions:-
(i) Prior approval of the Head of the Department concerned
is obtained on each occasion.
(ii) The nature of physical disability of the Govt. servant
is such as to necessitate an escort for the journey. In case of doubt, the
decision of the Head of the Department will be final.
(3) The physically handicapped Govt. servant does not have an
adult family member.
(4) The Govt. servant and the escort avail of the concession,
if any, in the rail/bus fare as might be extended by Railways/State Roadways
authorities in such cases.
(5) Any other person who is entitled to LTC does not
accompany the handicapped Govt. servant on the journey.
(DOPT
OM No. 31011/4/91-Estt. ( A) dated 9.7.91)
LTC when an officer is deputed for training in India or
abroad:
(i) In case the officer is deputed for training, the place
of training automatically becomes the headquarters of the Govt. servant and
such cases present no difficulty in deciding the admissibility of the LTC to
the Govt. servant himself and the members of the family.
(ii) Normally, the headquarters of a Govt. servant deputed
for training either in India or abroad continue to be at the place from where
he proceeds for training unless under the provisions of SR 59, the competent
authority changes his headquarters during the training period for the purpose
of traveling allowances on tour. Where the competent authority changes his
headquarters under SR 59 the new headquarters will have to be reckoned for the
purpose of LTC also. If no change of headquarters is effected in respect of
those who are deputed for training in India, the trainees are treated as on
tour from their original headquarters and are sanctioned traveling allowance as
on tour by the competent authority under SR 164. In such cases, if the Govt. servant
proceeds on regular leave from the training station and wants to avail of the
LTC, the concession should be allowed in respect of the Govt. servant himself
for the journeys from the place of training to the hometown and back to the
place of training or the headquarters on the expiry of the regular leave, as
the case may be. So far as the members of his family are concerned, the
starting point for the onward journey in such case will continue to be the
headquarters of the Govt. servant concerned.
(iii) In respect of officers who are deputed abroad for
training, the Government’s liability in respect of the Leave Travel Concession
in respect of the Govt. servant himself will be limited to the liability the
Govt. would have borne, if he had undertaken the journeys from the headquarters
(from which he proceeded for training abroad) or the headquarters declared
under SR 59 to the hometown and back. So far as members of his family are
concerned, headquarters from which he proceeded on training will be treated as
the starting point for the onward journey for the purpose of LTC.
(MHA
OM No. 43/10/65-Estt. ( A) dated 7.8.65)
LTC when journey
performed by longer route:
When a
Government servant or any member of his family performs the journey by a longer
route (which is not the cheapest) in two different classes of railway
accommodation, the entitled class rate will be admissible for the corresponding
proportion of the shortest or the cheapest route and the lower class rate for
the remaining mileage by such route.
Relaxation of normal time-limit of six months between
commencement and completion of the journey by the family of a Govt. servant:
It has been
recommended by the Department of Administrative Reforms that the powers for
relaxation of time-limit fixed for the return journey under this Ministry’s
Office Memorandum, dated the 11th April, 1958, may be delegated
to Heads of Departments. The Ministry of Home Affairs have accepted this
recommendation. It has accordingly been decided that the aforesaid power of
relaxation of time-limit for the return journey of families of Govt. servants
shall be exercised by Heads of Departments, subject to the conditions mentioned
in the Office Memoranda under reference.
(MHA OM No. 43/3/68-Est.(A),
dated 19.7.1968)
Advance should be
recovered in full and not in instalments:
A Govt.
servant who is granted advance to enable him/her and/or members of his/her
family to avail himself/herself of the LTC should refund it, in full,
immediately, if the outward journey is not commenced within thirty days of the
drawl of advance. Subsequently, since the Railways had raised the time-limit
for reservation of seats/berths by six months (now sixty days) before the date
of the journey, it was decided vide Department of Personnel & Training OM
No. 31011/4/78 Est.(A), dated 1st September, 1978, that a Govt.
servant can draw advance in respect of the journey proposed to be performed
under the LTC Scheme by himself/herself and/or by the members of his/her
family, sixty days before the proposed date of the outward journey. In such
cases, it was further decided that the Govt. servant should produce railway
tickets within ten days of the drawl of advance to the competent authority to
show that he/she has actually utilised the amount to purchase the tickets.
It has,
however, been noticed that, due to administrative lapse in certain cases, the
LTC advances which were not utilised to purchase the tickets in time remained
unrecovered for many months. This Department takes a serious view of the matter.
It is once again stressed that the above provision should be strictly observed.
Ministry of Finance, etc., are requested to ensure that if the ticket is not
purchased within the stipulated time, or the ticket having been purchased, the
journey is not performed for one reason or the other, the full amount of the
advance is recovered immediately, and no request for deduction of advance in
convenient monthly instalments is entertained.
(DOPT OM No.
31011/11/85-Est.(A), dated 21.3.1986)
Advance may be granted up to 90% of the estimated Fare:
The President has been pleased to decide that employees of
the Lakshadweep and A&N Administrations may be sanctioned an advance of 90%
of the estimated ship fare from Island to Mainland and back for availing Annual
Free Sea Passage. It has also been decided to increase the amount of advance
for availing LTC from 80% to 90% of estimated fare in respect of the Central
Govt. employees.
(M.F. OM No. F. 17
(4)-E.II (A)/85, dated 8.9.1986)
